Alpron in Japan has teamed up with Honda, the well-known car manufacturer, to turn its extremely intriguing DREAMO microalgae innovation into a nutrition solution in traditional powder supplement format. Honda doesn’t appear to be limiting itself to just working with Alpron for this whole thing, but it is one of the first, most notable nutrition companies that is bringing its microalgae to market as a finished food product.
Honda’s DREAMO is a next-generation protein source built from a modified microalgae strain, designed to produce usable nutrients through photosynthesis rather than traditional farming or fermentation. Instead of isolating a single protein, it creates a full biomass containing protein, carbohydrates, and micronutrients, almost like a meal replacement, which Honda is then licensing out to partners like Alpron.
The interesting thing is that Honda can adjust the composition of DREAMO biomass, meaning instead of a balanced blend of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, it can be altered to be primarily protein, with an example being as much as 69% protein and 10% carbs. It is a fascinating innovation from Honda that is coming at just the right time, as the cost of whey is skyrocketing, and in turn, increasing the price of your protein powder.
Honda and DREAMO have a scalable solution that wouldn’t be limited by the same supply constraints as the likes of whey or milk, and Alpron has one of the first samples of DREAMO as a next-generation nutrition supplement in IZMO Bio+Energy Drink. The product provides 5g of protein per serving, 10g of carbohydrates, 200mg of sugar, and a total of 63 calories, and it is currently crowdfunding its launch through Makuake.
