Start-up experiences increased demand for its innovative spirulina juice products

better to have a single big power station and now many countries in the north are developing windmill parks onshore and offshore which, apart from being a source of renewable energy, are more environmentally friendly than small power plants that block rivers.

Starting small is better than not starting at all

The important thing for Dr Ustups is that a start can be made, even if it is small. It is more useful to start small than to get involved with a big project that never gets off the ground, he says. There is also pressure from the EU in the form of the biodiversity strategy for 2030 which foresees 25,000 km of freeflowing rivers in Europe. Dr Ustups would rather have seen a target for each country like that for marine protected areas, where the goal for each country is that 30 of the sea should be marine protected areas.

The work on removing the barriers or creating fish passes will ultimately be shared by the barrier owner, NGOs, and the municipality. Representatives from all three will be part of the delegation to Estonia. Building a good fish pass is not easy as it needs to cater to both strong and weak swimmers. And water diverted to a natural fish pass means it cannot be used for other purposes, something that owners are sure to grumble over. In addition, fish passes are 5-7 times more expensive than demolition so compromises are going to have to be struck. With support from the Life Goodwater IP project as well as from the Estonians, hopes are high that more Latvian rivers will soon be free-flowing.

For more information, contact:

Dr Didzis Ustups Head of the Fish Resource Research Department Institute of Food safety, Animal Health and Environment (BIOR) 3 Lejupes Street, Riga LV-1076, Latvia

+371 67620513 bior@bior.lv

Making the benefits of spirulina more pleasant for consumers

Microalgae have been consumed by humans for centuries and today two species – spirulina and chlorella are considered superfoods for the health benefits they confer over and above their nutritional value. Microalgae are therefore increasingly used as ingredients in food formulations as they can enrich the product with their high protein content, all essential amino acids, unique antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Microalgae are organisms that vary in size from a few micrometres (millionths of a metre) to some hundreds of micrometres. Among the microalgae most used for human and animal nutrition is the genus Arthrospira commercially known as spirulina which offers high concentrations of protein and antioxidants. In Latvia, the company SpirulinaNord produces fresh spirulina as opposed to the dry and powdered form of the product which is the most widely available. Fresh spirulina is a very different product from dried spirulina. It is more valuable but spoils in a few hours, so we needed to invent new ways to keep it fresh, to preserve the sensitive antioxidants and living enzymes that are the most valuable components in spirulina, says Agneses Stunda-Zujeva, the co-founder of the company.

The products developed are essentially fruit drinks such as apple or berry juice to which the spirulina is added. The apple juice is supplied unfiltered from Latvian farmers. Other recipes include local cranberries and Nordic lemon. The company called bush quince Nordic lemon because this fruit is developed by Latvian breeders and is hardly known outside the Baltics. Dr Stunda-Zujeva believes it will

Dr Agnese Stunda-Zujeva, the co-founder of SpirulinaNord, a producer of drinks supplemented with spirulina.

The spirulina is harvested using a filter. Shorter spirals are collected in the bath underneath and are returned to the bioreactor to keep growing.

be appreciated as much as the refreshing flavour of lemon. The focus on local resources was to make the products more sustainable, another of the company’s goals. Combining the microalgae with juice ensures a pleasant taste that will appeal to most consumers unlike the widely available spirulina powders which tend to taste much too “healthy”. In the drinks the fractions of fruit, sugar, and spirulina is each one third of the total, so that these are algae drinks that do not taste of algae. “Healthy and tasty—it is possible!” says Dr Stunda-Zujeva.

Fresh spirulina offers more benefits than the dried variety

Dried spirulina is sold as a powder in capsules or in sachets. The former can be swallowed directly, while the contents of the latter must be dissolved in a glass of liquid before consumption. The dry powder form of spirulina is widely available; most of it comes from China, globally the biggest producer. In Asia seaweeds are popular therefore the distinct flavour that usually characterises dried spirulina is well accepted there, but not in the west. SpirulinaNord took a decision to stay out of this market in favour of creating a unique product with greater added value targeted at higherend consumers. In addition, Dr Stunda-Zujeva emphasises another aspect: “capsules or tablets are another way of ingesting dry spirulina without confronting the taste. But the idea of popping pills every morning is not appealing to many of our generation. As a young mother I prefer a daily glass of juice containing fresh spirulina that I can also offer to my children. I do not want them to associate pills with a healthy diet from an early age. Dr Stunda-Zujeva says that spirulina has positive effects on people who need an energy boost, on sportsmen and women, and even on people suffering from chronic ailments such as blood pressure, diabetes, or high levels of cholesterol. But she admits that most scientific studies investigating the positive impacts of spirulina conclude that more research is needed. However, it is well documented that high-quality spirulina is not allergenic, and is safe for sensitive user groups, like children, pregnant women, and seniors.

Spirulina grown indoors in optimal conditions around the year

The spirulina is grown on site at the company facilities in Riga where innovative bioreactors are used for the production. The bioreactors are designed by the SpirulinaNord team and specially adapted for Nordic conditions. The bioreactors are placed indoors and sunlight is simulated using special LED lamps that mimic the wavelength and frequency of natural light. The production was first based in Riga Technical University, as both founders are also researchers there. The company was established in 2019 thanks to an EIT Climate-KIC (a European Union body) grant which was used to build the first 200 L reactor. As production expanded it was shifted from the university to the current site and now with further expansions planned the company intends to move to vastly bigger quarters. Output currently is up to four kg per day depending on the conditions, but studies are being undertaken to optimise and stabilise the production. Perhaps the biggest advantage of growing the spirulina indoors is that it can be grown 12 months a year unaffected by the seasonality and weather. It is a tropical alga that needs 30-35 degrees water temperature to grow. Thus, when grown outside, the best quality is produced in summer while in spring and autumn the quality declines or another species that can tolerate lower temperatures is grown instead. Indoors, on the other hand, the temperature, light, nutrients etc. can be optimised for the fastest growth, automation is easier, and the quality of the spirulina is better and more consistent. The cultivation system is closed, and supplies of air and water are filtered to prevent contamination. In contrast, cultivation in outdoor pond systems is vulnerable to birds, insects, and microbial and soil contamination delivered by the wind.

Covid had both negative and positive impacts on the company

In addition to the algae-containing drinks, SpirulinaNord also offers frozen spirulina. It is taken by mixing a portion, a frozen hemisphere of spirulina in a glass of water or juice. Frozen spirulina was in fact the first product the company launched as it was already on the market in a few places around the world and had much better reviews than spirulina powder. The launch of the juices was hampered by the spread of covid and the lockdowns it provoked. For a new

The drinks come in different berry flavours of the spirulina. Bottles contain a single, five or 14 doses.

company with a new product that was highly dependent on tasting, the restrictions imposed by covid were a significant setback, says Dr Stunda-Zujeva. It was very important to have tasting sessions to show consumers that the SpirulinaNord product was different from the dry spirulina powder they might be familiar with. On the other hand, the rapid spread of the virus left people feeling vulnerable and prompted them to look for products that offered health benefits which made them more inclined to taste and then buy the drinks. There are already some studies and our client reviews also suggest that tiredness and brain fog caused by Covid-19 can be reduced by spirulina consumption. As it grows the company is looking for new customer segments and is adapting the product to cater to new requirements. For example, a spirulina syrup was developed for sportspeople, but it turned out to be a favourite among young mothers and their children.

The products are currently marketed through shops focused on health products, specialised grocery stores, and through the company’s e-shop. All products are still classified as niche, but perhaps when the production volumes increase the company will approach the large retail chains. However, Ms Stunda-Zujeva has found that supermarkets are highly conscious of price and taste while health does not get the same priority. Spirulina drinks are fairly expensive, a bottle with five doses costs EUR10, but when bought in bulk the unit price falls as the company would like consumers to buy doses for three or four weeks so that they can actually note the difference the drink makes to their long-term performance. Some clients have reported that they have reduced their consumption of coffee to just one cup per day as

Another product is frozen spirulina. A portion, represented by a single hemisphere, is added to a glass of water and allowed to thaw before it is consumed.

spirulina gives them energy and an alert mind without accelerated heart beats.

Science-based optimisation of production

At the production site the spirulina is grown, harvested, and mixed with the juices and the syrups or frozen into portions. The reactor sizes have increased from 200 L to 600 L and the most recently acquired ones are 1 m3 (1,000 L). The growth medium for the algae is also mixed on site; this is a kind a mineral water containing more than a dozen minerals. The medium is recycled as far as possible in the interests of economy as well as to reduce waste. Currently Dr Stunda-Zujeva has a postdoctoral research project devoted to the optimisation of artificial lighting for spirulina production in a bioreactor. Her dream is to make this technology as sustainable as possible and scale it up so that the whole of Nordic Europe can have fresh spirulina daily.

The optimisation work includes testing various spirulina strains obtained from algae banks or from university laboratories or other sources. Spirulina’s life cycle is simple, it grows by splitting as bacteria do. Over several months a few millilitres of spirulina can multiply to a few cubic metres. Each cell should be exposed to the light and nutrients to grow, so the mixing in the bioreactor is very important. One of the criteria to measure the wellbeing of the spirulina is to measure the length of the spirals. Long spirals suggest that the conditions are favourable, while short ones mean something is not working. At the in-house laboratory experiments are being conducted to learn how different strains of spirulina react to various settings of light and mixing intensity. Dr Stunda-Zujeva’s postdoctoral project, for example, looks at how levels of phycocyanin, an antioxidant present in spirulina, can be adjusted by manipulating the colour, intensity, and duration of light. As 99 of spirulina is grown in ponds under sunlight, no industrially relevant studies are available. Demand for spirulina as a superfood is rapidly increasing while the technologies to grow it outside tropical regions are not developing as quickly. During the long Nordic winters consumption of fresh spirulina is even more essential as local fresh vegetables are not available. Tomatoes and cucumbers are already commonly cultivated in the Nordic region, so spirulina should be next. SpirulinaNord is working on it.

SpirulinaNord

Pi urgas iela 36, V lodzes Stopi u novads LV-2130, Latvia

+371 2639 7629 info@spirulinanord.eu https://www.spirulinanord.eu

Business developer and

co-founder: Dr Agnese Stunda-Zujeva

Spirulina production: Up to 4 kg per day Products: Spirula-containing syrups and juice, frozen spirulina Markets: Nordic Europe Employees: Five