Edonia: a micro-algae with a thousand virtues

Decarbonizing our food supply: the market for plant-based alternatives

The urgent need for a sustainable alternative

The massive consumption of meat products has a significant impact on our greenhouse gas emissions, massive water use and deforestation. That's why so many meat alternatives have emerged in recent years. The challenge for these products is considerable: to replace meat's protein content while retaining an interesting taste, a healthy composition and an affordable price for the consumer.

A fast-growing yet fledgling market

Despite a few successes, most meat substitutes are falling out of favor. The reason is that these hyper-processed products are no longer appreciated by consumers in search of simple, healthy products. And yet, the market is huge : it is estimated at 23.5 billion euros by Xerfi, with a projected annual growth rate of 15%.

Microalgae: a solution for the future? 

Often mistakenly associated with algae, microalgae are not plants but protists, tiny single-celled organisms that use light as an energy source. As a result, microalgae cultivation requires very little water, energy or even surface area, and offers high yields. In addition to their ease of cultivation, microalgae are naturally rich in proteins and other nutrients, making them an ideal replacement for meat products in our diet.

Microalgae also hold promise for other sectors in transition (water purification, biofuel production, CO2 capture, cosmetics, etc.). However, their large-scale production and use are still in their infancy, and it is essential to support research and innovation in this sector to promote large-scale, cost-effective and environmentally efficient production and harness the huge potential of this fascinating organism.

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Edonia, tomorrow's leader in meat substitute ingredients 

Edonia's innovation 

Thanks to Edonisation, a unique and patented process, Edonia has developed an ingredient that is both highly flavorful, nutritionally unambiguous, rich in proteins, vitamins, and essential minerals, and ––a rare occurrence in this sector–– minimally processed. The ingredient stands out thanks to its textured, nutritious and organoleptic appearance, revealing the potential of microalgae for food. 

Edonia positions itself as an ingredient supplier to food manufacturers. Its product is designed to replace meat products in processed recipes such as lasagna, targeting specialized foodservice and sports nutrition markets first, and eventually the general public.

A team of enthusiasts

The team brings together the complementary expertise of 3 micro-algae enthusiasts. In 2021, Hugo Valentin and Pierre Mignon, CEO and COO respectively, created Ammi, a microalgae-based spread. This experience led them to build an expertise on this ingredient and grasp its potential, with the aim of making it the new flagship ingredient in alternative proteins. The duo were joined last summer by Nicolas Irlinger, Edonia's CTO, with expertise in biotechnology and a background at Danone and Sanofi. 

Edonia has also teamed up with researchers at AgroParisTech to develop its product, and intends to strengthen its R&D, industrialization and business development team thanks to their fundraising efforts.‍

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A clear impact for an entire industry ‍

Edonia's solution meets a  a number of environmental and social challenges. The first Life Cycle Assessments are very promising: thanks to the sobriety of its production, Edonia offers a protein product that defies all competition (whether meat products or vegetable products such as soy) in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. As for nutritional value, Edonia's product provides all the proteins that the ground beef it replaces contains, plusother essential nutrients. And all with minimal processing. A unique combination offering a very positive impact on the nutritional quality of the food products in which it is incorporated.

Edonia's potential impact is therefore enormous: provide a large number of consumers with a new source of protein that is both healthier and less carbon-intensive without sacrificing the taste quality of the products.

They're talking about it in the press:

• Edonia grabs €2M to turn microalgae into less bitter-tasting ground meat alternative, Techcrunch
• Paris-based Edonia raises €2 million to produce plant-based ingredientes from microalgae, EU Startups

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