Bluu Seafood (formerly Bluu Biosciences)

Dr. Cornelius Lahme of BLUU GmbH

Dr. Cornelius Lahme © BLUU GmbH
Cultivated Seafood

Bluu Seafood: “The Technology Behind Cellular Agriculture is Still Too Abstract for Many Consumers. We Have to Take People With Us”

Bluu Seafood specialises in cultured fish. Fish fingers, fish balls and caviar have already been produced from the cells of Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout. The startup emerged from the Lübeck-based Fraunhofer Research Institution for Marine Biotechnology and Cell Technology (EMB), where co-founder Dr Sebastian Rakers was also employed for many years. Together with entrepreneur Simon Fabich, the cell and marine biologist founded Bluu Seafood (then known as Bluu Biosciences). A pilot plant has been in operation in Hamburg since 2024. Bluu Seafood has applied for authorisation for its products in Singapore and the USA. Dr Cornelius Lahme, responsible for marketing and communication at Bluu Seafood, talks to us in an interview about why the cultivation of fish is so important, what exactly the division …

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Investment Climate Podcast: Fabian Friede of Bluu Seafood – How to Get Funded in 2024

In this new podcast series, co-produced by vegconomist, Alex Shandrovksy interviews investors about benchmarks for funding alt proteins in 2024 and uncovers the investment playbooks of successful Climate Tech CEOs and Leading VCs. Podcast Host Alex Shandrovksy is a strategic advisor to numerous global food tech accelerators and companies, including leaders in alternative protein and cellular agriculture. His focus is on investor relations and post-raise scale for agrifood tech companies. Episode one from last month can be found here and the second is here. Episode 03: Bluu Seafood’s Fabien Friede In this episode, Alex talks to Fabian, co-CEO of Bluu Seafood who joined the startup industry in 2010 and worked with investors on a lot of different digital businesses around the globe. He talks about …

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A photo of a fished Atlantic salmon

© BLUU Seafood - Anna Brauns

Company News

BLUU Seafood Expands Cultivated Fish Production in Preparation for Market Entry, Predicts Price Parity With Fish Within 3 Years

Europe’s largest cultivated seafood biotech, the German startup BLUU Seafood, announces that it has officially inaugurated its first pilot plant in Hamburg-Altona.   The new facility boasts 2,000 m2 of space dedicated to research, production, and office use for its 35 employees. It includes state-of-the-art cell and molecular biology labs, process development areas, and a test kitchen for food applications. At the new plant, the company will initially operate 65 L bioreactors, with the potential to expand to 2,000 L to scale to industrial production as it prepares for market entry. The startup initially operated on a small scale in a laboratory setting in Lübeck, using stem-cell technology to establish GMO-free fish cell lines to grow muscle, fat, and connective tissue from Atlantic salmon and rainbow trout …

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Bluu Seafood_Cultivated Fish Fingers on a plate_copyright Bluu GmbH_Wim Jansen

Cultivated Fish Fingers, image copyright Bluu GmbH / Wim Jansen
Cultivated Seafood

BLUU Seafood: €1.3M Cultivated Seafood Research Project Backed by German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture

A three-year research project aims to contribute to the production of alternative protein sources, in particular flavour-bearing, healthy fish fat cells, usable for human nutrition, thus opening up new options for global food security in times of population growth and climate change. BLUU Seafood is the largest company in the production of cultivated fish in Europe. This June, Bluu secured €16 million in Series A funding to upscale cultivated fish production, aiming to secure regulatory approval in the USA and Singapore in 2024. In conversation with vegconomist last June, COO Christian Dammann asserted that by “2025 cultivated seafood can be expected to appear in supermarkets”, and in the following August the company stated that its seafood products were market-ready. Cell ag as a relevant future …

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Bluu Seafood_Cultivated Fish Fingers_copyright_Bluu GmbH_Wim Jansen

Image © Wim-Jansen / Bluu GmbH
Cultivated Seafood

Bluu Seafood Secures €16M to Cultivate Fish at Scale and Gain Regulatory Approvals in US & Singapore

Cultivated seafood company Bluu Seafood announces it has secured €16 million in Series A funding to advance its technology platform and scale up its cultivated fish production. The German food tech also announced that it will invest in R&D activities to prove it can scale its production at a new pilot plant (opening in Q3) with bioreactors of up to 500 liters in volume. As it scales its technology, the company said it will seek regulatory approval for its products in USA and Singapore in 2024. “We are proud to announce that we have secured the necessary capital to further advance the work on our groundbreaking technology — the cultivation of real fish without killing,” shared the company on its social channels. A pioneer in …

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bluu seafood cultivated salmon served on a black plate with lemon rinds

Bluu Seafood's cultivated sashimi © Bluu GmbH/Wim Jansen
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Bluu Seafood Reaches Essential Milestone Allowing Cultivated Seafood Scale-Up

Bluu Seafood, a German food tech developing cultivated seafood, has announced an “essential” milestone in its cell-based seafood production process. The company claims it has successfully adapted its proprietary GMO-free fish cell lines to grow in suspension without using microcarriers or other scaffolds. According to Bluu Seafood, this adaptation will enable fish cell production in large-scale “stirred-tank bioreactors,” allowing the company to develop a range of seafood products that can be further produced and commercialized. Sebastian Raker, Bluu Seafood’s CEO, said: “This important achievement allows us to adhere to our ambitious R&D timelines.” Establishing cell suspensions Cell suspensions are the best system for producing animal cells at a large scale, explains the food tech, which adds that implementing such a system for mammalian and fish …

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Carlotte-Lucas GFI Fish International

© GFI
Fairs & Events

The GFI at Fish International: “A Positive Sign for the Future of Our Oceans”

Germany’s Fish International fair took place at the beginning of September 2022 in Bremen, where numerous fish and seafood alternatives were exhibited among experts from the fish industry. Visitors had the opportunity to see and taste alternative products from Austrian Revo Foods, with its plant-based seafood, and Bluu Seafood from Germany, with the first cultivated seafood products to enter the market. Happy Ocean Foods presented its new plant-based products launched in partnership with Beyond Meat and ready to market soon.  Established food companies such as Nestle Professional and FRoSTA also showcased their alternative seafood products. Parallel seafood business meetings also took place, including one by the GFI Europe, the leading NGO in the field of promoting alternative proteins. Carlotte Lucas of the GFI provided the …

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Topics:

© Revo Foods
Fairs & Events

Germany’s Fish International 2022 Presents Cultivated and 3D Solutions For Fish Industry

The Fish International 2022 trade fair in Bremen (4-6 September) is to incorporate alternative proteins and cultivated solutions for application in seafood into this year’s programme, dedicating the second day of the trade fair event to the topic. Fish International is the sole trade show for fish and seafood in Germany. The trade fair provides information on new products entering the market as well as a review of recent innovations and advancements in alt-seafood. Speeches at Fish International 2022 After adding plant-based alternatives to fish and seafood to its portfolio in 2021, Planteneers has established itself as a provider of manufacturing solutions suitable for fish producers and companies specialising in making plant-based alternatives. At the Fish International 2022, Product Manager of Planteneers, Florian Bark, will …

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Bluu Seafood_Cultivated Fish Fingers on a plate_copyright Bluu GmbH_Wim Jansen

Cultivated Fish Fingers, image copyright Bluu GmbH / Wim Jansen
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Bluu Seafood Announces Europe’s First Cultivated Seafood is Market-Ready

Germany’s Bluu Seafood has presented its first market‐ready products made from cultivated fish cells, positioned as Europe’s first cultivated seafood products. The company states the alt seafood products will soon be ready to enter the regulatory approval process across its target markets. Bluu Seafood is concentrating on goods manufactured from fish cells that are developed in specialist facilities, based on the notion that conventional seafood production is nearing its limitations. Compared to cultivated meat, cultivated seafood has a less complicated structural makeup and is more temperature-tolerant, allowing for easier upscaling. Europe’s first cultivated seafood Founded two years ago, Bluu Seafood now becomes Europe’s first cultivated seafood startup to present market-ready cultivated seafood products. The first cell-based products developed by the startup are cultivated fish fingers …

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Chris Dammann Bluu Biosciences

Christian Dammann ©Bluu GmbH
Interviews

Bluu Seafood: “By 2025 Cultivated Seafood Can Be Expected to Appear in Supermarkets”

Christian Dammann, PhD, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bluu Seafood and VP at Cellular Agriculture Europe, is an internationally renowned expert in cellular agriculture and cultivated fish development as well as a former co-founder of BlueNalu. Bluu Seafood is one of the first cultivated seafood innovators in the European sphere and appointed Christian as its inaugural COO in 2021.  Christian focuses on process development, scaling-up, and – most crucially – regulatory affairs at Bluu Seafood so we talked with him about the present and future of both the company and the sector.  Plant-based alternatives for meat and some seafood can now be found in many supermarkets around the world. However, only one cultivated product, chicken, is available and only in Singapore. Cultivated seafood is not …

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Chris Dammann Bluu Biosciences

Christian Dammann ©Bluu GmbH
Cultivated Seafood

Bluu Seafood: “By 2025 Cultivated Seafood Can Be Expected to Appear in Supermarkets”

Christian Dammann, PhD, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bluu Seafood and VP at Cellular Agriculture Europe, is an internationally renowned expert in cellular agriculture and cultivated fish development as well as a former co-founder of BlueNalu. Bluu Seafood is one of the first cultivated seafood innovators in the European sphere and appointed Christian as its inaugural COO in 2021.  Christian focuses on process development, scaling-up, and – most crucially – regulatory affairs at Bluu Seafood so we talked with him about the present and future of both the company and the sector.  Plant-based alternatives for meat and some seafood can now be found in many supermarkets around the world. However, only one cultivated product, chicken, is available and only in Singapore. Cultivated seafood is not …

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CellX

©CellX
Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Bluu Seafood and CellX Partner to “Make Cellular Agriculture a Reality” Within Germany & China

Bluu Seafood and CellX today announce a strategic partnership, stating they are committed to a shared goal to “make cellular agriculture a reality” and advance regulatory approval in their countries, respectively Germany and China. Bluu Seafood (formerly Bluu Biosciences), which claims to be the first European company specializing in cultivated fish, will present its first product this year. CellX, which claims to be the leading cultivated meat company in China, showcased several products in 2021 with a focus on pork and is now expanding into beef and poultry. Chris Dammann, COO of Bluu Seafood, is a VP and board member of Cellular Agriculture Europe, while Ziliang Yang, founder and CEO of CellX, is Secretary of the APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture. The newly formed partnership …

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Bluu Biosciences founders

Founders Dr Sebastian Rakers and Simon Fabich copyright Bluu Biosciences
Company News

Bluu Biosciences Becomes Bluu Seafood to Reflect Company Focus & Direction

Bluu Biosciences, a pioneer in the development and production of cell-cultured fish in Europe, is now called Bluu Seafood. The new name reflects the change from a predominantly research-oriented biotech to a more product-oriented food tech. Initial product launch this year In the second half of this year, the company plans to introduce its first product based on cell-based fish and plant components. The market launch depends on the regulatory requirements in the respective target markets and is likely to take place initially in Asia, the UK or the USA before it is approved in the EU. Bluu Seafood is currently focusing on the development of market-ready cultured fish products that no longer differ in taste, texture and cooking behaviour from comparable products based on …

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Interviews

Bluu Biosciences: “Cultured Fish is the Alternative to Overfishing Our Oceans”

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, 90% of the global fish population is fully fished, overfished, or in crisis. Yet, fish is an important staple in the world’s food supply. At the New Food Conference, which takes place on 10-11 October in Cologne, Dr Sebastian Rakers, CEO and Co-founder of Bluu Biosciences, will talk about how cultured seafood will be able to bridge this gap. Here, he gives a brief overview on regulatory status, consumer acceptance, and the role of farmers. Bluu Biosciences is Europe’s first company focusing on the development and commercialisation of cultured fish. Why did you choose seafood? Fish is already the most widely consumed source of protein in many regions of the world and demand is increasing due to …

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Chris Dammann Bluu Biosciences

Christian Dammann ©Bluu GmbH
Cultivated Seafood

Cultivated Seafood Producer Bluu Biosciences Announces BlueNalu Co-Founder Chris Dammann as Inaugural COO

Bluu Biosciences, pioneer in the development and production of cultivated fish in Europe, has appointed Chris Dammann as the company’s first COO. Chris is considered one of the world’s leading experts in cellular agriculture and cultivated fish development. Prior to joining Bluu Biosciences Chris co-founded BlueNalu, one of the first companies worldwide to specialize in cultivated seafood. He developed the technology strategy and scientific approach for the company, and as its CTO led the implementation of a technology platform for cultivated fish. He built and led the R&D team, while also managing collaborations, IP, IT and the establishment of a PMO. Before founding BlueNalu Chris was Director of Science & Technology at the Invention Development Fund of Intellectual Ventures. Other career stops include the role …

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Bluu Biosciences

©Bluu Biosciences
Top Stories

Europe’s First Cell-Cultured Fish Biotech Company Bluu Biosciences Secures €7M in Oversubscribed Seed Round

German biotech firm Bluu Biosciences, the first company in Europe to specialize in the development and production of cell-based fish, announces it has closed a seed funding round at 7 million euros, less than ten months after its foundation. Bluu Biosciences is working to produce high-quality, sustainable fish products from cell cultures, to feature high nutritional value and a premium flavour profile.

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