The thickening agent is obtained from red algae. The plants used for this purpose are partly warm-water and partly cold-water algae.  The carrageenan obtained is water-soluble and can form gels of varying firmness.

Depending on the algae used - kappa, iota or lambda - the product has specific dissolving and gelling properties.

Different types are often combined with each other in order to fulfil a specific functionality in the end product. WELDING also supplies a large number of different variants of carrageenans, each of which is adapted to specific recipes.