Yemoja’s new microalgae is poised to become a nutritious player in the plant meat space
Yemoja, Ltd., a marine ingredient start-up, announces developing a red microalgae discovery for medium-rare plant-based burgers and steaks that adds authentic “bloody” juiciness. Branded Ounje, meaning “Food” in the Yoruba language, this formulation mimics the red juices of real meat without harming animals or the planet and without the need for artificial color additives.
The company discovered that this marine ingredient, when combined with other derivatives from this same Porphyridium strain of algae, can provide a nutrient-packed medium for rendering the sensory characteristics of juicy meats for plant-based meat and cultured meat products.
Yemoja operates a cutting-edge, indoor system for cultivating high-value, pure, and standardized microalgae bio compounds serving the nutraceutical and cosmetics B2B sectors. The platform system allows the manipulation of light, temperature, and pH to yield high concentrations of desired bioactive compounds with minimal ecologic footprint and without contaminants, using minimal resources, and sharply reducing waste.
The deep red algae is grown indoors in high precision, photobioreactors and exhibits potential to act as a natural, clean, and 100% plant-sourced heme substitute to serve the cultured meats and plant-based alt meat sectors.
