Solazyme has announced that it is focusing the company exclusively on food, nutrition, and specialty ingredients to harness its algae innovation platform. To reflect its refined focus, the company has changed its name to TerraVia.
“By unlocking the power of algae, the mother of all plants and earth’s original superfood, we are bringing much-needed innovation in food and nutrition,” said Jonathan Wolfson, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “Our new generation of breakthrough ingredients and foods delivers on nutrition, flavor, and texture all with an unparalleled sustainability profile, and these products are already beginning to penetrate a market that is demanding healthier alternatives.”
TerraVia’s portfolio of ingredients and products include:
Specialty Food Ingredients: Includes the AlgaVia Whole Algae ingredients (lipid rich powder and protein) and AlgaWise Algae Oils (cooking and high stability oils).
Consumer Food Products: The company will leverage its ingredients to incubate select consumer brands, including Thrive Culinary Algae Oil.
Animal Nutrition Ingredients: A new area for the company, where initial products and partnerships will be announced soon.
Specialty Personal Care Ingredients: Including AlgaPur Oils, which are marketed and sold alongside food ingredients and where the company has major customers including Unilever.
Co-founder and CEO Jonathan S. Wolfson has notified the board of directors that as part of this transition he will shift his focus from daily operations to strategy and special projects including those with a consumer focus. At his request, a search for a new CEO will begin immediately. Wolfson has been appointed chairman of the board and will remain as CEO while the search is underway. He will assume the full-time role of executive chairman effective upon the placement of the new CEO. Jerry Fiddler will remain on the board and has assumed the role of lead independent director.
