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Waiākea Hawaiian Volcanic Beverages has announced a major breakthrough in sustainable packaging, becoming the first beverage brand globally to commercialise labels printed with carbon-negative, algae-based ink.

The rollout follows a rigorous five-year R&D process and signals a viable, scalable alternative to traditional petroleum-derived printing inks for the broader Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) sector. To execute the commercialisation, Waiākea established a joint partnership with biomaterials company Living Ink Technologies, speciality coatings manufacturer ACTEGA, and printing specialist NextGen Label Group™.

The Technology: Replacing Petroleum with Algae

The newly implemented ACTExact® UV Black Algae Ink utilises "Algae Black™," a pigment derived directly from algae. This serves as a direct drop-in replacement for traditional carbon black pigment, which is heavily reliant on fossil fuels and ubiquitous in printing, packaging, and automotive industries.

The environmental metrics behind the switch offer a compelling value proposition for brands looking to address Scope 3 supply chain emissions:

• Conventional Carbon Black: Emits approximately 3.75 kg of CO₂-equivalent per kilogram of pigment produced.

• Algae Black™: Actively sequesters carbon, resulting in a net impact of -4.16 kg CO₂-equivalent per kilogram.

According to Living Ink Technologies, if the global supply of black pigment were entirely replaced with Algae Black™, it could prevent and remove over 100 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions annually.

Open-Sourcing the IP

In a rare move within the highly competitive sustainable packaging space, Waiākea has elected not to maintain exclusivity or intellectual property (IP) rights over the final ink formulation.

Instead, the company has chosen to "open-source" the ink through its manufacturing partners. This strategic decision ensures that small businesses and competing CPG brands have immediate access to a commercial-ready, carbon-negative pigment without navigating proprietary licensing hurdles, effectively acting as a catalyst for industry-wide adoption.

Pushing the Industry Forward

The algae ink integration builds upon Waiākea's decade-long track record of packaging innovation. The brand was notably one of the first in North America to commercialize 100% post-consumer recycled (rPET) bottles in 2012, later introducing its OceanPlast™ format to utilise ocean-bound plastics.

These continuous supply chain optimisations recently earned the brand a historic B Corp score of 126.6, the highest ever recorded in the US for its category.

Ryan Emmons, Co-Founder and CEO of Waiākea, commented on the milestone: "The historic B Corp score that followed our reincorporation as a Public Benefit Corporation marked a new chapter for us. But milestones are only meaningful when they push you forward. Our algae-based inks show our continued commitment to move an imperfect industry towards a better future."

Waiākea and its partners have confirmed that they will continue to scale the technology, with additional algae-based colour pigments slated for development in the coming years.