Dutch Algae Oil Innovator Secures €1.2 Million For Fish-Free Portfolio Growth

Wellness Innovations BV has announced a successful crowdfunding round. The 1.2 million cash injection came via the DuurzaamInvesteren investment platform. Funds will be used to continue the company’s algae oil product portfolio expansion. Two wholly-owned brand names are primed for growth.

Testa Omega-3 and Daily Supplements are Wellness Innovations’ consumer-facing endeavours. Both have been founded on the principle of preventing all unnecessary fishing by 2035. All products are powered by plants, with no animal derivatives used. The company cites educating buyers about the alternatives to fish oils as a key mission driver.

A future with fish in it

Wellness Innovations is an R&D group that focuses on fish-free nutrition, health, and beauty lines. It aims to offer viable alternatives across every sector, to allow fish populations to recover. It is vocal on the issue of overfishing and cites figures such as 90 billion kilos of fish being hauled from the oceans for consumption each year. Its mission is to entirely end unnecessary fishing within 13 years.

“We are already well on our way in this mission,” co-owner Martin de Vries, said in a statement. “We are market leader in the Netherlands and Belgium, and we are growing strongly in Germany, France and the UK. However, the share of algae oil in the total omega-3 market is still only about 5%, so we still have a long way to go to realise our goal. Growth is therefore necessary and we are taking steps to the other continents. In addition, we are broadening our portfolio.”

Omega-3 does not need to be sourced from fish. It can be found in sustainable, regenerative algae instead. To drive the message, Testa unveiled a new vegan alternative to krill oil this year. As a connected but separate project, plant-based food fish alternatives are also being developed.

Wellness Innovations’ recent crowdfunding round was successfully closed within three weeks. Private investors came on board and generated €1.2 million for the development of more ocean-saving products. The investment platform noted that this was a new area.

“The vegan omega-3 food supplements from algae were something quite new,” DuurzaamInvesteren CEO Anrique Aparicio Torres said in a statement. “We are pleased to see that this type of innovation is also being embraced by investors and that the development towards a sustainable future is accelerating in this area as well.” 

A sustainability star

Algae is proving to be a popular area for research. Thanks to its inherently regenerative properties and a multitude of varieties, various industries are showing interest in it.

Earlier this month, Australia’s Provectus Algae reported an $11.4 million investment round that was led by Hitatchi Ventures and Vectr Ventures. An extensive product range is expected in the future, but Provectus is focussed on a blood-red colouring agent first. Funding will be used to complete a 200,000 litre production plant that will support scaled rollout.

In Israel, Yemoja has been enjoying accidental success. It has developed a microalgae-based heme that can be used to create juiciness and bleeding capabilities in plant-based meat. It will be branded as Ounje and browns realistically when cooked.

Lead image courtesy of Wellness Innovations.