The algae has been traditionally harvested for food products and ingredients, but is increasingly being added to cosmetics as biotechnology has made it easier to produce and process into value-added ingredients.
According to a report from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the crops being raised for this segment are growing at a rate of approximately 7.5 per cent per annum, which as well as food and cosmetics, is also being driven by demand from the bioenergy and biomedicine segments.
Vast majority of macroalgae patents are held in Asia
Underlining the increasing dominance of the Asia Pacific market, the study reveals that approximately 84 per cent of macroalgae patents have come from Japan, China and South Korea.
This figure is particularly interesting in view of the fact that none of these countries are amongst the world’s top macroalgae producing nations, an achievement that goes to countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
However, it is safe to say that a significant proportion of this production is being exported to more developed markets, with Japan, China and South Korea being amongst the biggest importers of the raw macroalgae materials.
Likewise, outside of the Asia Pacific region, it is countries such has the US and France that are said to invest the most resources into research and development in this area, despite not being producers.
Developing countries hold the key to future R&D efforts
"On the contrary, countries like the Philippines or Indonesia, major producers but with a low investment in research, have not registered patents," Inés Mazarrasa, CSIC researcher at the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies emphasizes.
According the report authors, the study highlights the fact that the biotechnology that is driving the development of the microalgae segment shows that there are plenty of opportunities for development in partnership with countries that have traditionally only played the role of macroalgae producers.
"Before the study, we expected that, given its greater accessibility, the macroalgae patents market was more evenly distributed among producing countries,” the study authors note.
“Moreover, the increase in demand for new macroalgae products and applications could open a chance for traditional producing countries to benefit from their macroalgae production capacity".
Farmed algae highlighted as sustainable ingredient
Part of the rising interest in farmed algae is the fact that they have a much more sustainable profile than many other marine-based extracts.
Arizona-based Heliae is one specialist company currently catering to this demand, claiming the organism group has great potential to be the industry's main source of sustainable actives.
The company says that more and more algae ingredients such as coastal plants, seaweeds and sea minerals are making their way into cosmetic products and hold the key to be the future's sustainable ingredient alternatives.