Thai Union Corporate Venture Fund

Editorial team

Thai Union Corporate Venture Fund invests in French algae ingredients startup

Thai Union Group Plc, a global leading seafood company, announced that its Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) Fund has joined other strategic and financial partners investing in France-based Algama’s €13 million Series A fundraising round.

Founded in 2013, with presence now across France, the U.S., and Belgium, Algama leverages its algae innovation platform to offer co-development and industrialization of algae-based ingredients for F&B players looking to replace animal protein and/or fortify their products.

Algama’s flagship product, the Tamalga® range of ingredients, replaces eggs in many industrial applications, particularly in bakery and pastry. The funding in this round will be used to accelerate commercialization of innovations, development of new applications, and setup of a new 10,000m2 bio-refinery in Liege, Belgium.

The investment in Algama, and further collaboration, will support the future growth of Thai Union’s Alternative Protein business, coupled with exploration of other specialized ingredients especially for marine products.

Thiraphong Chansiri, president and CEO of Thai Union, said that Thai Union is committed to “Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans”, and algae, as a sustainable, marine ingredient, is aligned with the company’s goals. Algama and its experienced team have strong tech and commercial capabilities to create a positive impact on the protein industry. The company will work with them and explore further collaboration opportunities.

Vegan tuna and smoked salmon alternatives developed by Algama (Credit: Algama)

Thai Union’s CVC fund was established in 2019. It has identified alternative proteins, functional nutrition and biotechnology, in addition to new technologies along the food value chain, as strategic areas for investment. The fund invests in, and partners with, early-stage, entrepreneurial companies working in these areas, seeking to support and accelerate their development to grow the industry in line with Thai Union’s commitment to Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans.