“Health by stealth”: BioMara CEO on leveraging regenerative seaweed to close the fiber gap

Biotech company Biomara and ingredient supplier Macphie have tested the commercial viability of a new food ingredient derived from regenerative farmed seaweed, demonstrating applicability in bakery and plant-based meats. 

The project was completed in partnership with the Faculty of Social and Applied Sciences at Abertay University in Scotland and found that Seafibrex, a functional food ingredient, does not compromise finished products’ taste, texture, or manufacturing efficiency.

Food Ingredients First sits down with Jay Dignan, CEO of BioMara, to understand key project outcomes, including the ingredient’s nutritional and taste profile, ease of use, and how to market a novel food that might challenge consumer perceptions to drive adoption.

BioMara extracts Seafibrex from Alaria esculenta, a brown seaweed species native to UK/European northern waters.

“We select it for its clean, mild taste profile, making it ideal for integration into a wide range of food products and helping to reduce off-flavor notes. Crucially, Alaria grows rapidly and is well-suited to regenerative ocean farming, a burgeoning industry in the UK,” Dignan tells us.

“This allows us to source it sustainably and locally from UK/European seaweed farms. It not only supports traceability and is good for the environment, but also helps strengthen coastal economies and build a resilient domestic supply chain.”

The fiber gap and technical challenges

The company produces the ingredient through a proprietary extraction process and can deliver a combination of fibers, antioxidants, bioavailable minerals, and complex carbohydrates. This helps improve the nutritional footprint of everyday foods.

According to the 2023 National Diet and Nutrition Survey, only 4% of UK adults meet the recommended daily intake of 30 g of dietary fiber.

The project links this shortfall to a rise in non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer. Seafibrex was developed to support the reformulation of familiar formats in a way that can help bridge this gap.

As a key outcome of the initiative, Macphie incorporated the ingredients into its industrial-scale bakery processes, including muffins, bread, and meat alternatives.

The trials showed that no major process overhauls were required, and the products met the established commercial quality expected by bakers.

“Seafibrex integrated well into industrial processes. Initial pilot trials focused on optimizing dosage and hydration dynamics to ensure consistency across batches, particularly in high-moisture and leavened products like bread and muffins,” Dignan explains.

A loaf of bread containing Seafibrex.“We also worked to fine-tune Seafibrex’s particle size to maintain optimal mouthfeel and mixing performance. BioMara has conducted multiple scale-up trials of the Seafibrex production process, progressively increasing batch sizes to ensure product consistency.”

Cost and taste parameters

Cost-effectiveness is a key concern for food producers and retailers aiming for widespread accessibility of such ingredients. BioMara’s patent-pending extraction process leads to cost improvements with a zero-waste approach.

“It isolates not just this fiber and minerals but also a high-value bioactive compound from the same seaweed input,” says Dignan.

“This integrated, zero-waste approach means that Seafibrex can be offered at a fraction of the cost of whole dried seaweed or raw biomass typically used as ingredients, making it highly cost-effective for manufacturers and cost parity to similar fiber products that have less nutritional and functional benefits, such as pea fiber.”

The stakeholders want to ensure that the ingredient can be used across mainstream product lines, without being limited to premium or niche offerings.

However, accessibility is tied to consumer acceptance, as buyers can often resist trying novel foods such as seaweed despite perceiving them as healthy.

This is where Abertay University’s consumer sensory evaluations came in and deduced that Seafibrex-enhanced products could deliver on taste, texture, and mouthfeel, even in demanding categories like plant-based meat and baked goods, reveals Dignan.

“Consumer testing was conducted in a controlled environment, allowing for structured, unbiased feedback. Participants responded positively to Seafibrex-enhanced baked goods and plant-based meats, even in terms of taste, texture, and mouthfeel (depending on the incorporation rates used in the final recipes).”

Consumer acceptance of novel foods also hinges on food safety and its perceptions.

“Seafibrex meets the necessary food safety and labeling standards for use as a food ingredient. This regulatory clearance allows manufacturers to incorporate it into formulations confidently and easily, without the delays or uncertainty that often come with novel ingredient approvals.”

Marketing seaweed

With food neophobia being a real barrier to driving consumer acceptance, Dignan says there is no need to highlight that this functional ingredient is derived from seaweed.

“Our approach is very much ‘health by stealth,’ delivering nutritional benefits without requiring consumers to engage with unfamiliar formats or change their eating habits.”

“Seafibrex integrates into everyday foods, allowing brands to reformulate for better health without drawing attention to the ingredient’s origins unless they choose to. For example, the bread rolls had the look of a wholemeal loaf, so no need to highlight that there is a new ingredient.”

Moreover, Dignan notes many possibilities for drawing customers in with different marketing angles for seaweed.

“Seafibrex can be framed as a nutritional boost, improved recipe formulation, community support (farms), environmental benefits (ocean and replacing land/water/fertilizer intensive crops).”

The company is exploring applications beyond the initial categories tested, with product and process validation complete.

“It is a highly versatile ingredient, with potential applications across snacks, soups, sauces, and functional beverages.”

“Its clean label status, high fiber content, and ability to support reduced-sugar, reduced-fat, and reduced-salt formulations make it an attractive solution to improve nutrition without compromising consumer experience at a competitive price point,” he concludes.

The project falls under Innovate UK’s multi-million-pound Better Food for All program.