Based in Singapore and the Netherlands, Sophie’s Bionutrients, a food tech company producing plant-based ingredients and dairy products, announced it has developed a chlorella-based vegan ice cream in collaboration with Danish Technological Institute (DTI).

Chlorella–a microalgae flour cultivated from chlorella vulgaris–was combined with other functional ingredients after screening and application tests were performed by DTI technicians to develop the dairy-free ice cream.

According to the company, a 1 oz serving of chlorella ice cream contains twice the recommended daily intake of vitamin B12 and is a good source of iron (a nutrient not found in cow’s milk).

AnalystQuickTake: Chlorella, (a form of seaweed), is a type of algae that grows in freshwater and is a good source of protein, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, chlorophyll, and other vitamins and minerals. This ingredient is both generally recognized as safe (GRAS) in the US and approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) with companies such as Algama using it as an egg replacement to produce vegan mayo.