CyberColloids was formed in 2002 by a group of individuals who had many years of experience in the food ingredient industry with the aim of offering a unique service focused on food thickeners and gellants called hydrocolloids.

Over the last five years, the company, which is based in Carrigaline, Co Cork and employs 12 staff, has established itself as a global centre of excellence for polysaccharide chemistry in respect of food texture.

Ross Campbell, managing director, said: “The service we offer is unique because, thanks to a very broad skills base among our staff, we can offer a complete package, from new product concepts right through to sales and marketing support.

“Everything we do is very commercially focused and we offer a wide range of services covering research, innovation, manufacturing support and process and product development.

“Our research involves working with texturing and thickening agents for a variety of uses, for example, for fat replacement in sauces and dressings, in the stabilisation of ice cream and to increase moisture retention in meat products.

“More recently, we have branched out into the human health sector, since there is evidence that these agents can have a positive effect on human health if used correctly,” he added. “Hydrocolloids can be considered as potential prebiotics, which are known to have benefits for digestive health. There is also some evidence that hydrocolloids reduce cholesterol in the blood.”

In 2005, CyberColloids commenced a two-year project with InterTradeIreland’s FUSION programme which enabled them to employ graduate research associate Sarah Hotchkiss, who completed a PhD in the biology of seaweed at the University of Adelaide, South Australia.

Sarah said: “The aim of the project was to carry out a review of all the scientific evidence for the nutritional benefits of eating seaweed, a source of hydrocolloids, and then to evaluate a number of specific raw and semi-processed seaweeds as functional food concepts.

“We worked with the Northern Ireland Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), who were extremely helpful in providing the additional nutritional expertise we needed, throughout its duration, as well as the post-development marketing of the products.”

Sarah was also able to pursue further study during the programme, obtaining a postgraduate diploma in Speciality Food Production from the University of Cork. She has now been employed on a full-time basis as a Research Associate with the company.

The company has since enjoyed many benefits as a result of working with the FUSION programme, including participating in a €1m project with the Universities of Ulster and Reading, as well as being awarded a grant from the Marine Institute for an 18-month project to evaluate flavouring aspects of edible Irish seaweeds.
 
Mr Campbell continued: “Working with the FUSION programme was a really excellent experience for us as a company and gave us the opportunity to carry out a project in the health area by being linked to internationally acclaimed institutions involved in nutrition, such as the University of Reading and the University of Ulster, Coleraine.

“It kick-started a whole new area of work for us with academics and international research projects and, as a result, CyberColloids is now recognised as a research provider on the European stage.

“I would strongly recommend the programme to other companies – it has proved to be an invaluable tool for us in business development and we have been able to attract new projects and funding awards of over €500k over the next two years”.