Biotech startup Atlantic Fish Co., headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, leverages cellular agriculture to create seafood free of plastics, mercury, antibiotics, and animal suffering.

© Atlantic Fish Co.

Cultivated Seafood

Atlantic Fish Co. Pioneers Cell Lines for Cultivated Halibut and Other Overfished Wild Species

Biotech startup Atlantic Fish Co., headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, leverages cellular agriculture to create seafood free of plastics, mercury, antibiotics, and animal suffering. Doug Grant and Trevor Ham founded the company in 2020 with a vision for a better future for people, animals, and the planet. The startup believes that cellular agriculture will ensure protein security by 2050. The biotech is focused on the development of cell lines of wild-caught species, such as halibut, which are greenhouse gas-intensive due to trawling techniques and are also unsuitable for aquaculture farms. To develop seafood directly from fish cells, Atlantic Fish Co. uses genetic engineering technology to scale fish cells in bioreactors, providing them nutrients for growth, developed in partnership with Defined Bioscience, and scaffolding structure for support. Atlantic …

more

A vegan mycelium white fish filet with sauce.

Image courtesy of Esencia Foods

Fermentation

Esencia Foods Hosts “Europe’s First” Mycelium Seafood Tasting at Anuga Gastronomy Fair

Esencia Foods, a mycelium biotech from Germany, has been presenting its vegan white fish alternatives to seabass and cod at Anuga 2023. The company claims this marks the first time a mycelium seafood product has been available for tasting at a European gastronomic fair. This year, Anuga has focused on plant-based foods, with an emphasis on alternative seafood. Esencia Foods stated that it is leveraging the opportunity to establish partnerships with restaurants and food service distributors to launch its sustainable seafood products into the market. “Tastings at selected industry-focused events will help us to win important partners, but also to fine-tune our products and learn which dishes can be most successful at the market”, said Hendrik Kaye, founder and CEO of Esencia Foods. A new generation of …

more

CULT Food Science launches Marina Cat, a cultivated fish cat food brand

© CULT Food Science

Pet Food

CULT Food Science and Umami Bioworks Launch Cultivated Fish Cat Treat

CULT Food Science (CSE: CULT), an investment platform focused on cellular agriculture, has introduced Marina Cat, a new cell-cultivated pet food brand developed in partnership with cultivated fish company Umami Bioworks. Marina Cat aims to offer eco-friendly products with the nutritional benefits of fish without the harmful environmental impacts of commercial fishing.  Marina Cat’s first product is described as a blend of sustainably produced cultivated snapper and a nutritional yeast ingredient called Bmmune, which boosts the cat’s immune system. Additionally, the treats contain Omega 3 and 6, nine fatty acids, and DHA and EPA to promote cognitive function, vision, and nervous system development. The new products will begin to be produced later this year and are expected to be available for purchase by 2024, says CULT Food Science. …

more

Steakholder Foods 3D bio-prints the world's first cultivated fish fillet

© Shlomi Arbiv

Company News

Steakholder Foods 3D Bio-Prints the “World’s First” Whole Fillet Cultivated Fish

3D-printed cultivated meat company Steakholder Foods (NASDAQ: STKH), formerly MeaTech 3D, has announced the world’s first 3D bio-printed cultivated fish product. The recently developed prototype was a ready-to-cook grouper fillet, printed with customized bio-inks utilizing grouper cells provided by Umami Meats. Backed by a grant from the Singapore-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (SIIRD), Umami Meats and Steakholder Foods work to develop a scalable process for producing structured cultivated fish products using Steakholder Foods’ proprietary 3D bio-printing technology and customized bio-inks. This 3D fish printing represents a successful and meaningful milestone in their partnership. Arik Kaufman, CEO of Steakholder Foods, said: “We’re excited to be working with Umami Meats to develop 3D-printed structured fish products that have the same great taste and texture as traditionally caught fish, without harming the environment.” …

more

Plant-based Salmon Filet

©New School Foods

Investments & Finance

Canada’s New School Foods Raises $12M to Scale Whole-Cut, Raw Plant-Based Salmon

Plant-based seafood producer New School Foods announces it has raised $12M in seed funding for its proprietary, scalable technology that can produce “raw” whole-cut fish alternatives. Beginning in 2023, the company will launch its whole-cut salmon through a chef-only pilot program in North America.  According to New School, the overall alt-protein industry has not yet fully tackled its greatest opportunity: whole cuts, which represent a majority of meat sales in North America. New School notes that whole cuts involve many complex structural challenges such as texture, connective tissue, muscle fibers, and other macrostructures that exist in animal proteins.  To resolve this, New School Foods CEO Christopher Bryson invested heavily in academic R&D projects for three years with leading food science universities. Through his work, Bryson …

more

© Kindness

Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Thai Startup Kindness Exports to 25+ Countries With 4000t Annual Output

Kindness is a plant-based food tech startup based in Thailand, with a fun tagline, “Let’s go Beyond the Impossible,” tipping its hat to its biggest international peers. Kindness offers ready plant-based formulas and product development and plant protein consultancy to brands and manufacturers that “desire to innovate within the vegan protein space.” With 30 years of combined experience in plant-based food production, Kindness claims its R&D team has developed 300-ready formulas using soy, wheat, konjac, and pea protein, which other companies can leverage to expand their current CPG offer or develop innovative products. A non-animal-derived diet Founded by Mike Yang, the Thai startup aims to develop high-quality, plant-based foods at a competitive cost to propel consumers’ adoption of a non-animal-derived diet. With the brand’s plant-based formulas, …

more

Plant-Based Fried Shrimp

©The ISH Company

Investments & Finance

The ISH Company Raises Over $5M in Oversubscribed Round to Accelerate Plant-Based Shrimp and More

Alt-seafood startup The ISH Company announces it has raised more than $5 million in seed funding to accelerate growth and development of its plant-based seafood products. The oversubscribed round was led by ACCELR8, with participation from Stray Dog Capital, and multiple angel investors. The funds will primarily be used to propel the company’s market launch, create more innovative products, and lay the groundwork for future partnerships.  ISH, whose name stands for Innovative, Sustainable, and Healthy, produces a range of plant-based seafood made from natural ingredients such as green coconuts and algae. Its flagship product, Shrimpish®, is a premium, more sustainable alternative to shrimp that launched in select US restaurants, colleges, and universities in early 2022.  “The plant-based market has seen incredible growth over the past …

more

Boldly Fish

©Boldly

Products & Launches

Aiming to Disrupt Global Seafood, Boldly Debuts With Plant-Based Calamari, Sashimi, Crab Sticks and More

Boldly, a new plant-based foods brand, announces the upcoming launch of its 100% vegan seafood line, featuring salmon and tuna sashimi, calamari, shrimp, crab sticks, and white fish filets. The range will initially launch through US restaurant and food service partnerships in Summer 2023.  Bringing diversity Created to disrupt the $600Bn global seafood industry, Boldly states its products use cutting-edge innovation to deliver the same taste and texture as animal-based seafood.  As the public becomes more aware of the dire threats facing the world’s oceans, such as overfishing, plastic pollution, and heavy metal contamination, more consumers than ever are looking to balance their seafood intake with plant-based alternatives. Boldly’s new seafood line, which features konjac root as a core ingredient, is intended to create a …

more