Business
Areas and Markets
Igene is a global
supplier of specialty ingredients.
Animal
nutrition
Within the animal
nutrition area the main focus is to deliver high quality nutrients
to the fish feed market.
The Aquaculture industry
has grown at an annual rate of 10-20% over the prior 10 years.
This growth has been possible due to the increased consumer awareness
of beneficial health effects of food from the marine
environment.
Both astaxanthin and Omega
-3 fatty acids that are found in
shellfish
and fatty fish (such as
salmon) are proven to have a
positive
impact on human
health, especially on the
cardiovascular system.
Igene has, since 1998,
supplied
natural astaxanthin to the
Chilean salmon industry
Our products have proven to
be at
least as effective as the
synthetically produced
astaxanthin. It is estimated that our natural astaxanthin
was used by 25% of the Chilean salmon industry in 2006.
The total world market for astaxanthin in the salmon and trout industry
is approximately USD 250 million. In addition to this, it is believed
that there is at least a USD 50 million market for this product
in other feed applications. Igene's natural astaxanthin is today
also used for pigmentation of other species such as sea bream,
shrimp, poultry and egg yolks.
Astaxanthin to the
feed market stems mainly from five suppliers, with Igene currently
being the third largest in terms of volume. The number one and
number two suppliers both provide synthetically produced astaxanthin.
In the salmon industry there is a rapidly increasing awareness
of using natural feed additives.
Business
Areas and Markets