28 Nov 2023 — At this year’s Food Ingredients Europe (FiE) in Frankfurt, Germany, Nutrition Insight meets up with De Wit Speciality Oils and Algarithm Ingredients to discuss their recently announced multi-year distribution partnership.
“We’re excited to show our collaboration with Algarithm Ingredients, and we’re highlighting the company’s algae oil at the show,” says Gertjan de Wit, director at De Wit Speciality Oils. “It’s a great fit for our existing product range. We expect the algae oil to contribute to the business.”
Ben Kelly, the president of Algarithm Ingredients, adds: “We knew we wanted to have more distribution in Europe, but we’re not physically here. Finding a partner like De Wit Speciality Oils gave us a physical presence in a network we didn’t have.”
With the partnership, the companies aim to create an efficient European algal omega-3 supply chain, expanding the reach of Algarithm’s fish-free omega-3 ingredient distribution.
Focus on Europe
Kelly notes that although Algarithm Ingredients is the world’s second-largest algal omega-3 producer, the company does not have operations in Europe.
“We are primarily focused on North America,” he explains. “Although we have some customers in Europe, not being physically present has made it challenging to service those relationships the way that we want to.”
“We’ve known from our experience working in Europe how De Wit Speciality Oils treats their customers and how expansive their network is. It was a perfect fit for where we’d like to focus our long-term business.”
He adds that the collaboration with De Wit Speciality Oils follows a previously announced partnership with Thai Union Ingredients, which is in charge of manufacturing in Germany.
Gertjan de Wit, director at De Wit Speciality Oils (left) and Ben Kelly, president of Algarithm Ingredients (right).Expanding product range
De Wit highlights that De Wit Speciality Oils will support Algarithm Ingredients in enhancing the distribution and accessibility of its products in Europe.
“We have an extensive customer base in Europe,” he details. “For our oils, especially the omega-6 gamma-linolenic acid (GLA) oils, we are the market leader in Europe. We know all the food supplement companies and encapsulators. We can add algae oil to our offer and supply that to our customers.”
Looking ahead to 2024, De Wit adds: “We are very keen to use the knowledge from Algarithm Ingredients, not only for the food supplements but also the food and beverage market, as well as the pet food market, aiming to expand the use of algae oil for other uses.”
“For De Wit Speciality Oils, we also have plans at our factory in the UK to improve our production method and use more green, eco-friendly solvents.”
Plant-based omega-3s benefits
De Wit Speciality Oils and Algarithm Ingredients highlight that omega-3s derived from algae instead of fish sources benefit both sustainability and consumer safety.
“Fish oil is the biggest source of omega-3, but its sustainability is coming under question at the moment,” highlights De Wit. “Moreover, fishing levels are hardly enough for all the demand for aquafeed and human consumption. For the future, algae oil is an excellent alternative, and it’s also vegan.”
Kelly adds: “The other great thing is that algae oil never contains heavy metals, pesticides or any other contaminants because it’s not exposed to the environment.”
“While refining can remove those in fish oil, we don’t start with them. Therefore, we don’t have to do as many refining steps. It makes for a better-tasting oil.”
Regarding health benefits, Kelly explains that docosahexaenoic acid is typically known for “brain, eye and even sometimes heart health.”
Manufacturers link various health benefits to omega-3 ingredients, such as heart health, cognition and immunity support.
By Jolanda van Hal, with live reporting from William Bradford Nichols at FiE 2023
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