Mention Euglena, and it will surely remind people of its advanced formulation and technology that has shifted the beauty and wellness industry in unconventional ways. For Mitsuru Izumo, a trip to Bangladesh proved to be a starting point in his life as he embarked on a journey to improve the livelihood of people. Over years of persistence and dedication, Euglena has positioned itself as the leading brand in the wellness and skincare industry. Beauty Insider chats with Mitsuru Izumo, the genius behind Euglena as he shares the inspirations and ideas for future developments.

What made you decide to start a business with Euglena?

When I was a university student, I visited Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries in Asia, and saw children suffering from malnutrition. 

After returning to Japan, I changed my major to the Department of Agriculture to find food, which is abundant in nutrition. Then, I was looking for a “magical food” that could solve malnutrition problems. Finally, I found that Euglena would be the best food to solve the malnutrition problem in Bangladesh.                     

Since the 1950s, a number of researchers have been trying the outdoor mass cultivation of Euglena around the world, but it was extremely difficult, and I was often told that it is “almost impossible”. Nevertheless, we believed that Euglena is the food that would save the earth, and after repeated trials and errors, finally, we succeeded in outdoor mass cultivation of Euglena for the first time in the world in 2005.

What is euglena? How can euglena be used?

The microalgae Euglena, an algae or seaweed, has properties of both plants and animals, actually contains 59 varieties of nutrients that include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and unsaturated fatty acids. It also contains an excellent balance of all nine types of essential amino acids for adults. As such, Euglena is an excellent food ingredient that can be used in the development of foods, beverages, and supplements.

Furthermore, Euglena is known to produce oil similar to light oil in the body depending on the culture method. By extracting and refining this oil, it is possible to produce biofuel that can be used for vehicles such as buses and airplanes.

In fact, buses, ships, airplanes and other passenger cars using Euglena biodiesel fuel are already running on public roads throughout Japan since 2020. Euglena does not require agricultural land when cultivated, so it is less competitive with crops and land, and because it grows by photosynthesis, it consumes fossil fuels and grows by absorbing the CO2 emitted, building a carbon cycle society.

What developments have you made since starting your business with Euglena?

Firstly, after establishing the company in 2005, we have been focusing on developing OEM products because the company was not well known like today. Then, in 2007, when the Euglena was gradually gaining recognition in the market through OEM products, we finally started developing our own products and selling supplements, foods, powdered drinks, and other products.

In 2017, we developed our first overseas supplement brand, named the “Euglena P-3”, and started selling it in Singapore since people in Singapore are interested in health.

At the same time, we have been developing a number of researches of Euglena, from the point of view of not only food materials but also cosmetic products, especially, skin care products. Finally, we discovered that extracts from Euglena are good for skin in 2008. For instance, extracts from Euglena proliferate the cells (fibroblasts) that produce the firmness and elasticity of the skin. Also, it enhances the immunity of the skin and confirms the possibility of contributing to prevention of skin troubles and improvement of moisturising power.     

We first launched a cosmetics brand with sales channels in beauty salons and department stores, and later developed the cosmetic brand called “one” which is based on an all-in-one concept. By ingesting Euglena as a food, we aim to improve the immune system and intestinal environment and create beauty inside the body (inner beauty). Meanwhile, using Euglena as cosmetics improves the skin condition and promotes beauty from outside the body (outer beauty). Euglena is useful for beauty and health both inside and outside.

When do you feel good about your work in developing and selling Euglena products?

I feel so happy when I can actually hear the voices of our customers. All feedback from our customers are gathered to the call centre, and shared with all colleagues every month. I feel especially happy when I hear that our customers’ health has improved after taking Euglena supplements, or that their skin has become clearer and feel more confident after using cosmetics that contain Euglena.

In addition to the feedback received at the call center, we also hold an annual fan meeting in August, the anniversary of the company’s founding which is known as “Euglena Festival”.

At the event, I can have opportunities to talk with customers in person, so I feel even happier when I can receive their voices directly, and I hope that more people use our products to improve their health and beauty from both inside and outside.

What is the biggest challenge you have experienced? How did you overcome it?

Outdoor mass cultivation of Euglena was definitely the hardest challenge for us. As mentioned before, Euglena contains 59 varieties of nutrients that include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and unsaturated fatty acids, and also contains an excellent balance of all nine types of essential amino acids for adults. 

In order to commercialize Euglena, it is essential to cultivate Euglena in large scale, outdoor mass cultivation. Since these nutrients are desired not only by humans but also by other organisms such as plankton, bacteria, and insects, Euglena is at the bottom of the food chain, so it is easily eaten by them. To overcome this hard problem, we met pioneers and researchers all over Japan who were studying Euglena to get hints, and after thousands and thousands of attempts, finally, we succeeded in outdoor mass cultivation of Euglena for the first time in the world on December 16th, 2005.

What kind of products do you aim to develop using Euglena in the future?

We have been approaching not only food, cosmetics, and biofuel, but also fertilizer, feed, and fiber using Euglena. Firstly, we have aimed Euglena as “common food” in Japan, and also in Singapore.

Furthermore, we would like to spread Euglena to Singapore and other countries so that people can learn about its greatness and everyone on the planet can live a healthy life.

The Euglena company is known for its social program, the GENKI program. Has the global pandemic had any impact on this program?

When I was a university student, I visited Bangladesh, then, witnessed children who were malnourished due to lack of necessary nutrients. This experience made me establish the Euglena company.                         

We launched “euglena GENKI Program” in April 2014 with the aim of solving the malnutrition problems of children in Bangladesh. This program distributes Euglena cookies, which are rich in nutrients, to children in Bangladesh for free. It can provide Bangladeshi children with a day’s worth of nutrients that are particularly deficient.

Up until now, we have been able to deliver 10 million servings of Euglena cookies to children in Bangladesh. This program is operated by allocating a part of the sales when purchasing the products covered by the program as a sponsorship fund.

The products covered by the program are euglena Co., Ltd. and euglena Group companies including Euglena P-3 and “one”, as well as the products of partner companies that qualify for the program as sponsorship funds. We have been distributing Euglena cookies to 10,000 children five days a week until now. 

However, the impact of the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 infection would be enormous. Most schools in Bangladesh have been closed due to the pandemic of COVID-19, since in the spring of 2020. It means that it makes us difficult to distribute Euglena cookies at schools.

Due to the pandemic of the COVID-19, massive things have been stopped. On the other hand, promoting children’s health should not be stopped even if the situation remains at a standstill. It is our mission to keep delivering nutrients to children in Bangladesh by Euglena. In order to deliver Euglena cookies to the children during the school closures, we are currently asking them to come to school every two weeks and give them 15 days’ worth of cookies at a time, twice a month.

No matter what happens in the future, we will continue to run toward our goal of solving the malnutrition problems in Bangladesh, which is one of our missions, and we would be grateful if you could support us through Euglena P-3 and one.

For more content like this, be sure to follow Beauty Insider on Facebook and Instagram!