
Joe Embres, Founder/CEO of Kyanos Farms
Story
Kyanos Farms in Vero Beach, Florida




We grow the very highest quality Spirulina at Kyanos Farms in Vero Beach, Florida. Our Raw Live Spirulina and our Fresh-Frozen Spirulina Ice Blender Sticks are grown, harvested, packaged, and shipped from Kyanos Farms.
Our Founder and CEO, Joe Embres, is the sole owner of Kyanos Farms, the home of Vero Beach Spirulina.

Our new brand name is
Vero Beach Spirulina
Our new brand name for our fresh-frozen product is Spirulina Ice Blender Sticks
Our new brand name for our fresh raw Spirulina product is Raw Live Spirulina


How It All Began
In 2012, Joe Embres established Florida Algae, LLC along with his partner, Steve Schlosser. They set out to develop new methods to grow and harvest this amazing blue-green algae, a potential superfood of the future, and distribute it in raw form to their customers fresh from the farm. They started out by leasing a section of the Marine Lab at the Florida Institute of Technology in Vero Beach, Florida where numerous research projects were being conducted concerning the commercial raising of marine life. An important component of the project was growing the algae to feed them. This synergistic relationship with the F.I.T. Marine Lab allowed the partners access to years of research, biologists and lab equipment. Eventually Chris Withstandley “the local algae whisperer” was hired to help them research their new and novel methods to grow pristine algae. Spirulina had already become a very popular food supplement generally recognized as a highly nutritional superfood, but it was sold mainly in powder or pill form consumed my millions around the world. From the beginning of their venture, the team was focused on developing techniques to provide this superfood in fresh form – not dehydrated – and to implement their methods into commercial production of Spirulina.


From the onset, it was discovered that fresh Spirulina in raw form did not have the unpleasant odor or taste that was associated with the powdered form. In fact, it was found to be virtually odorless and tasteless (though some people taste a pleasant 'green' or 'spinach' flavor). For many years prior, it was believed that Spirulina had to be dehydrated due to the fact that fresh Spirulina spoils rather quickly after harvest. After much experimentation the team developed new techniques that protected damage to the fragile spirulina trichrome during harvesting. They then developed processes to freeze this fresh whole Spirulina while still maintaining 95% of the nutritional value of raw Spirulina. Upon achieving success, Florida Algae, LLC introduced their first product, SPIRULINA ICE, to retail stores throughout Central and South Florida.
Eventually, the partners were approached by Tim and Georgianna White, graduates of the Hippocrates Health Institute. The couple were excited about consuming the fresh Spirulina that they were producing and Tim White inspired the team to perfect their growing processes to produce raw Spirulina, which led to the development of Raw Spirulina and Raw Living Spirulina.
By 2016, Joe and Steve had vastly improved and expanded upon their growing structures and harvesting techniques at the F.I.T. Marine Lab. Unfortunately, F.I.T. made a decision to sell the beachside Marine Facility to a developer who eventually built condominiums on the site and Florida Algae, LLC was forced to cease operations at the facility. This resulted in the closure of Florida Algae LLC. Undaunted by the setback and persuaded by his many loyal customers to continue producing the quality product he had been providing, Joe Embres purchased a 10-acre parcel of land himself in a small farming area located in west Vero Beach. This area is well known for its perfect growing conditions and pristine deep-water sourced from the Florida Aquifer, a major factor which influenced Joe’s decision to open his own Spirulina operation and name it, Kyanos Farms.


Experts in the
Art of Growing
Spirulina Algae
Mission
Joe Embres and his partners have been delivering high quality Spirulina to local markets for over eleven years. With our humble origins on the Vero Beach, Florida coast, we have since expanded to a 10-acre farm. Since inception, it has been the goal of Kyanos Farm to create a frozen Spirulina product that can be distributed at a reasonable price to markets all over the country.
Focus
"The driving force behind our determination to perfect the Spirulina growing process has been our constantly increasing family of dedicated fresh algae consumers. Without the support, encouragement and dedication of these friends, we never would have been able to grow as we have in recent years. We are now enormously proud to provide this truly miraculous superfood to the masses. Like us, many are yearning to live in a more ecologically-minded and healthy world."
