As ABLC 2017 opened, Qualitas Health revealed a partnership with Texas retailer H-E-B. On March 28, 2017, H-E-B will begin exclusively selling the premium omega-3 supplement line, alGeepa, in stores throughout Texas.
The source of alGeepa’s nutritional power comes from its core ingredient, Almega PL. Almega PL is a 100% vegan, algae-based ingredient that is specifically designed to help the body absorb omega-3s faster and more completely than ever before. Omega-3s are a key part of a healthy diet, leading to improved cardiovascular function, nervous system function and immunity.
The Omega-3 backstory
As Terry Mazanec wrote in The Digest earlier this year, “The nutritional supplemental omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA play essential roles in human and animal nutrition, including during neonatal development and in adult cardiovascular health. With a wholesale value of up to $500/kg their value more closely resembles the value of the platinum at the bottom of that mile deep mine. The best selectivities to BHA or EPA of the total fatty acids in naturally occurring algae are about 40% w/w. However, genetic manipulations have allowed researchers to change the selectivities of BHA and EPA in transgenic algae strains.
“It is no wonder,” Mazanec added, “that processes for the production and extraction of BHA and EPA from algae are under development. Sapphire Energy, Cellana, Qualitas Health, Heliae, DSM, TerraVia, Fermentalg, and others are in the hunt.”
Qualitas said:
“Although the benefits of omega-3s are well known, many people don’t realize that fish and krill actually get their omega-3s from algae. Algae – the foundation of Qualitas Health’s best-in-class products – is a super-crop packed with nutrients like protein, omega-3s and omega-7s, capable of flourishing in arid environments and utilizing readily available inputs like salt water and CO2 to grow. Until recently, the nutritional promise of algae remained unrealized, as it proved too expensive to farm in substantial quantities. Qualitas has created the first global algae-based products platform to deliver vegan, highly bioavailable nutritional products with full traceability.”
Reaction from the stakeholders
“Qualitas is working to transform the category of omega-3s, and this partnership with H-E-B is an important step in our journey to providing consumers everywhere with high quality, vegan, sustainably-grown nutritional products,” said Miguel Calatayud, who joined Qualitas Health in March 2016 as CEO. “Most people don’t know that fish and krill get their omega-3s from algae. At Qualitas, we go directly to the source for ‘the original omega-3s.’ We provide consumers with omega-3s that are fully vegetarian, highly bioavailable, and grown in a 100% sustainable process.”
Added Corinna Bellizzi, VP of Global Sales for Qualitas Health: “We couldn’t be happier to have H-E-B as our exclusive retailer as we disrupt the omega-3 category with a vegan alternative that’s proudly Texas Grown, with a GoTexan® seal on every alGeepa product. Go Texan®, an effort of the Texas Department of Agriculture, promotes the products, culture and community that call Texas home – a perfect fit for both H-E-B and Qualitas Health.”