How Instagram launched blue spirulina.

Blue spirulina existed long before social media. But it took a Melbourne café, a blue latte and a lot of phones to make it famous.

01Before the trend

Spirulina extract, the source of blue spirulina's colour, had been used quietly by food manufacturers as a natural blue colour for years. Companies such as Japan's DIC Corporation built a business supplying it to confectionery and food makers. It was an ingredient, not a headline.

02The Smurf latte

In mid-2016, Matcha Mylkbar, a vegan café in Melbourne, began serving a bright blue latte made with blue algae powder, coconut milk, ginger and lemon. Photos of it spread on Instagram, international media picked up the story, and customers nicknamed it the "Smurf latte". Within weeks, a Melbourne café drink was being written about around the world.

03Why it worked on Instagram

Blue is rare in natural food, so an electric-blue drink or bowl stops the scroll instantly. Blue spirulina also had a story to tell: a natural colour from algae, not an artificial dye. And because it's nearly tasteless, cafés could add it to existing recipes without reworking the flavour, which made it easy to copy.

04From lattes to everything

Over the next couple of years, blue spirulina appeared in smoothie bowls ("mermaid bowls"), chia puddings, pancakes, frostings, ice cream and cocktails. Branded blue algae powders such as E3Live's Blue Majik became Instagram favourites, especially among vegan food creators. Media coverage in 2018 was still describing it as one of Instagram's hottest food trends.

05What it changed

The trend showed how quickly a visual idea can move from one café to menus worldwide, and how much customers value natural colour. Blue spirulina has outlasted the initial hype to become a regular ingredient on café menus, especially in smoothie bowls alongside açaí and pink pitaya.

06Make your own blue

A small amount of blue spirulina in a coconut-milk latte or a banana-based smoothie bowl is all it takes. Learn more about what blue spirulina is, or see our blue spirulina packs.