FUL®: Eco-Friendly, Microalgae (Spirulina) Superfood Drinks

Launched in February 2020 (just prior to the pandemic), FUL® Revive is vegan, low in calories, contains no added sugar, AND it includes microalgae (spirulina).

Set up by Julia Streuli (USA), Sara Guaglio (Italy) and Cristina Prat Taranilla (Spain) (who met in 2019 during their MBA at INSEAD business school in Singapore), the drink is blended with powerful vitamins, minerals, electrolytes and antioxidants, and it promises to delight taste buds, and to positively impact our planet.

FUL® belongs to a new category of “climate active” ingredients, crafted from microalgae. The cultivation of FUL® does not harm natural ecosystems: instead, it strengthens them (they can be grown anywhere, in limited space, without fertilizers or pesticides, and with minimal use of natural resources via a biorefinery process).

Revered by the staunchest health food followers, spirulina up to the present day has remained unpopular and largely unexplored by the mainstream food sector due to its unpleasant fishy smell and predominant bad taste. However, with the help of food technologists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, Julia Streuli, Sara Guaglio, and Cristina Prat Taranilla developed a natural process to rid spirulina of its unpleasant taste and odour.

The drink is a versatile sparkling drink which is available in three refreshing flavours: white peach, lemon and ginger and lime and mint: it makes for an eye-catching addition to cocktails, and it can be mixed with your favourite gin, rum or vodka.

The business started when the three Founders (Julia, Sara and Cristina) joined forces for a research project on business solutions to climate change. Throughout that process, they discovered the incredible benefits of microalgae.

The trio submitted a business plan to the school’s international venture competition, and they beat around 80 other teams from all over the world to win first place, – receiving enough funding to move to the Netherlands to hire one of the worlds leading food and flavour scientists to help develop the idea and bring it to life.

Julia grew up near Boston. She studied international relations and gender studies at Brown University. Her dream was to work at the UN or at the World Bank in international development, but she ended up in Silicon Valley in the start-up world, instead, where she fell in love with the innovation ecosystem.

Sara has lived and breathed entrepreneurship since she was born: she helped run her family business outside Milan, where she honed her IP and financial strategy skills and, in true Italian fashion, she carried a deep passion for food over to the Lowlands.

Cristina built a global career leading large-scale decarbonisation projects in the energy world. She decided to apply her chemical and industrial engineering expertise to unlock a much greener gold potential.

“It has the feel and taste of a soft drink, without the empty calories, caffeine or added sugars, and with all the health benefits of the fruit juice and FUL® superfood,” said CEO Julia Streuli.

“What we eat and drink every day matters, but making choices that are good for us, and the planet, isn’t easy. There is no denying our current food system is partly responsible for global warming and the degradation of natural ecosystems, and this needs to change and we have proved things can be done differently. By unlocking microalgae as a fully-fledged protein and nutritional source, FUL® Foods helps turn the tide” she added.

A huge hit already on the terraces of Ibiza and in Amsterdam, the brand won the 2021 World Beverage Innovation Award for Best Ingredient Innovation, and Gold at the Lunch! 2021 London food and drink trade show award for “best ingredient.”

Find out more here: https://fulsuperfood.com