DIC says the unspecified investment in Back of the Yards Algae Sciences advances its position in “more sustainable and circular algae-derived products,” including natural food colorants, natural food additives, and biostimulants. BYAS owns proprietary technology for efficiently extracting active ingredients from biobased materials, notably algae and mycelia. The company’s spirulina (cyanobacteria) algae-based Heme Analog (BYAS-AHA) is receiving “intense interest” for its ability to enhance the alternative meat taste and aroma, without the use of genetically modified organisms.
DIC was the first company to successfully commercialize Spirulina production in the 1970s. It went on to develop Spirulina powders, Spirulina-derived edible pigment and natural blue food colorant Lina Blue®.
DIC and BYAS will also share algae mass-culture technology and functional component extraction technology to develop new products, further improve production efficiency, reduce waste, and improve sustainability.