Origins & History
Earthrise spirulina roots go back almost 50 years as the pioneers of spirulina production. Today we offer quality spirulina and spirulina-based products, with distribution in over 20 countries around the globe.
In 1976 a group of U.S. visionary pioneers, founded the progenitor of Earthrise, Proteus Corporation, to develop spirulina, a blue-green algae, as a world food resource. Proteus was funded by a group of private California investors committed to the vision and hope spirulina represented. This team began cultivation in the hot desert area in Southeastern part of California in the late 1970s and later changed our name to Earthrise Nutritionals.
In 1981, Earthrise® developed a partnership with a Japanese company, Dainippon Ink and Chemicals (DIC), a diversified product company with a commitment to developing micro-algae for food, biochemicals and pharmaceuticals that had just begun growing spirulina in Thailand. This unique partnership between California entrepreneurs and Japanese corporate intrapreneurs flourished to a dynamic growth of spirulina production as well as its market worldwide. In 2005, Earthrise® Nutritionals was wholly owned by Dainippon Ink and Chemicals (the present DIC corporation). Today, our farm is the world’s largest spirulina farm, and together with our sister company's farm abroad, DIC group is the largest spirulina producer globally.
