Bluewave targets 5-10% market penetration for ‘purist’ protein consumers with new fish powder products
Mark Rottmann, COO for BlueWave Marine Ingredients, told NutraIngredients-USA: “We see a combination of the Paleo, CrossFit and dairy-free market to be our strongest initial market demand – additionally the some of the users of Fish Oil pills as they will associate fish protein with health.
“When we look at the protein powder market for use in shakes and bars, we see several hundred thousand tons/year consumed by tens of millions of Americans.
“For the AminoMarine powder (mainly for shakes), we would narrow that down to a market of about 500,000 persons who’s protein powder selection ($200MM/year) would fit the specific benefits that AminoMarine targets.
“Success in the early years would be reaching 5-10% market penetration for this ‘purist’ group…and much higher as other retailers include AminoMarine in their own formulations,” he added.
Flavors
The product will be available to consumers with 4 flavor options, peanut butter, chocolate-hazelnut, natural (non-flavored) and a natural (neutralized), said the company.
“Utilization of key refining techniques that remove the fish fat/oil component leaving an 83+% protein powder, establishing the baseline for creating a more neutral protein flavor and allowing us the ability to then add additional flavors for the retail consumer market,” said Michael Mussell, CEO of Bluewave.
The company is already in discussion with retailers, while on the ingredient supply side, other brands are interested to incorporate the ingredient in their own formulas.
Development
As NutraIngredients-USA first reported several years ago, advances with membrane technology allowed Bluewave to produce fish protein isolated that meets both the organoleptic and economic requirements for the broader food ingredient/ supplement marketplace.
The membrane system works by having one stream enter and three streams exit. The main stream is separated into a high fat plus protein stream, a zero fat plus protein stream, and a biogenic fraction. The fishiness is removed by the membrane, since it removes the oil and fat.
The company has a two-pronged strategy for AminoMarine in the US retail market – to work with some niche players in the protein market and to go directly to the market with the Bluewave branded ingredient.
California’s Genomyx launched the first dietary supplement for sports nutrition containing the ingredient at the Arnold Expo in Columbus, OH, earlier this year.
The protein offers a complete profile of the essential amino acids, said Rottmann, and the price is competitive with standard whey, with the added benefit that AminoMarine is hydrolyzed. It is at a discount compared with hydrolyzed whey, he added.
Facility
The protein is produced at Bluewave’s multi-thousand ton manufacturing subsidiary Proteicos Concentrados in Lima, Peru. Rottmann said building the large scale GMP/HAACP/Sanitary certified plant to produce the products without any existing clients was a “risk”, but the company was confident that demand would come.
“Fish peptides have unique beneficial properties not found in other animal protein sources,” he said. “They are also produced from non-GMO, antibiotic-free animals that haven’t been fed hormones. Throw on top the fact that the fish source is from sustainably fished, clean south pacific waters – from a rapid life cycle species that doesn’t have time to accumulate heavy metals, and all the rest.”
The unflavored version of the Fish Protein Powder (finished product) in produced in Bluewave’s Peru facility, then shipped in bulk to the USA where it is further processed, flavored and packaged – all in GMP facilities, said the company.
