Maiko van der Meer, former CEO of both Dutch shrimp giant Klaas Puul and seafood brand Mowi Consumer Products, is entering the plant-based seafood sector with the launch of a company called Novish, saying that the move is not intended to create competition for seafood but to enhance the entire category.
The Dutch executive said to Intrafish that he began work on the project in 2017 after spending a period as Chief Commercial Officer at Vion Pork overseeing plantbased meat. Van der Meer and his partners spent two years in a lab working on manufacturing techniques and developing recipes, finally settling on fish sticks, nuggets and burgers for the launch.
Van der Meer predicts that in the near future, most protein suppliers will embrace plant-based alternatives, however said that it is “important to me that this new category is not viewed as a competitor to seafood,” he said. “It’s a complementary product, and will lift the entire category with new consumers.”
Intrafish reports that the team at Novish is “currently self-financing the initial launch, but is talking with investors, lenders and partners about additional capital.”
