BINMEI, global leader in blue spirulina

Natural blue is generally considered to be the “Holy Grail” of the beverage industry. Its bright color is no longer synonymous with melancholy but has become the new favorite of fashion and health. For example, blue velvet latte powder, its blue color is from the natural ingredient blue spirulina.

Blue Spirulina is a blue water-soluble pigment extracted from spirulina. (Synonyms: Spirulina Extract, Phycocyanin, Spirulina Blue, Algae blue, C-phycocyanin). It is also one of the rare pigment proteins in nature. It is not only bright in color, but also a nutrient-rich protein with complete amino acid composition，of which contains essential amino acids 37.2%. It can be used as a natural food colorant, a raw material for functional foods, an additive for cosmetics, etc.

Application of Blue Spirulina

》Natural Pigment for Food

As a pure natural pigment, Blue Spirulina has been widely used as a high-grade natural pigment for foods and cosmetics in Europe, America, and Japan in the early 21st century. Blue Spirulina is a natural blue pigment approved by the US FDA and is also listed as a color food raw material in the European Union. China’s GB2760 food additive catalog also uses Blue Spirulina as a natural colorant to allow use in products such as candies, fruit &vegetable juices, flavored beverages, and jellies.

》 Cosmetic Field

Blue Spirulina is a collagen-like protein with whitening, moisturizing, anti-allergic, and dispel freckles effects. For example, the French brand  L’OREAL and Chinese brand DANZ which are well-known in female friends, have used blue spirulina in their customized cosmetic products, to create a marine-like color and give the skin a natural care.

》Medical and Health Care Field

Many types of research confirmed that blue spirulina can scavenge free radicals. As a natural antioxidant, it can help scavenge cell damage, aging, inflammatory reactions, and so on, which caused by harmful free radicals. For example, the “Little Sapphire” blue spirulina oral liquid, a new type of algae product developed by Switzerland Laboratoire Mergens SA in 2018, can repair liver damage caused by excessive drinking, and also has certain preventive effects for fatty liver and cirrhosis.

Besides, blue spirulina has fluorescence property, and its fluorescence is 30 times than ordinary fluorescein. It can be used as a photosensitizer in some photodynamic of biology, cytology, and so on. Also, it can be used as a light-sensitive protein to promote plant photosynthesis and produce a photosensitive reaction stimulated by light energy, thus it has antiviral and antibacterial effects. At present, experiments conducted jointly by the Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Shandong Vegetable Research Institute have shown that blue spirulina extracted from spirulina contains specific auxins.

Beautiful Color and Connotation

As consumers increasingly seek to return to nature, the rise of ‘clean labels’ has driven the rapid development of natural pigments. According to Markets and Markets data, the global natural food pigments market is estimated to be US$3.88 billion in 2018 and will reach a compound annual growth rate of 5.7% to be US$5.12 billion in 2023. Compared to synthetic food pigments, natural food pigments offer food processors more choices, and many artificial pigment suppliers have turned to natural pigment development plans.

In the current world, in addition to the rapid rise in demand for natural red pigments and natural yellow pigments, blue spirulina has an irreplaceable position as a natural blue pigment and has a huge market. The global market is expected to grow at an average annual growth rate of 50% from 2016 to 2020.

In addition to its natural pigment function, blue spirulina is also a premium ingredient for functional foods. Mordor Intelligence has reported that the global spirulina market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.3% between 2017 and 2022. For example, the Smart-Chimp from the French company is antioxidant water based on spirulina. Its active ingredient blue spirulina, not only provides a fresh and bright blue color but also make the product has preventing cell oxidation, stimulating the immune system and other health functions.

BINMEI Bio help building the blue spirulina standard in China

In China, blue spirulina had been monopolized by technology from Japanese companies and others and remained high prices. To change the passive situation of blue spirulina, Zhejiang BINMEI Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has been committed to the research, development, and production of blue spirulina since its inception. The company is the first in the world to initiate and launch the experimental study of “modifying blue spirulina with enzymatic method “, and has made breakthrough progress, draws a new blueprint for the functional application of blue spirulina. At present, BINMEI has several independent intellectual property rights in the field of blue spirulina.

In 2017, BINMEI Bio was also involved in the formulation of the China National Safety Standard for Food Additive Blue Spirulina. Its many technical achievements were approved and incorporated into the national standard. At present, BINMEI Bio has been the main company specialized in the industrialization of blue spirulina in China. Its products are widely used in food, medicines, cosmetics, biochemical researches, and other fields, and are exported to Japan, Europe, America, etc., BINMEI blue spirulina has strong market competitiveness and high-quality reputation.