Seafood Archives - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

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Op Ed: Marissa Bronfman On Women Leading the Way in Alt Seafood

May 22, 2023May 19, 2023

Marissa Bronfman is a serial entrepreneur, speaker, and business advisor to food founders and impact investors. She is passionate about helping people build, grow, support, and invest in woman-owned and plant-based businesses and is excited to be helping accelerate the alternative seafood space. Inspired and encouraged by the number of women leading in the space, Marissa believes “there’s never been a better time to start, scale, or invest in a vegan seafood company”. Alternative Seafood: A New Wave of Opportunity Led by Women By Marissa Bronfman It’s a hugely exciting time for seafood analogs, a relatively small but fast-growing category of alternative protein, with many new companies and technological developments being led by women from around the world. At a time when our …

Canadian biotech company Smallwood announces a new manufacturing plant for its vegan seafood ingredient

© Smallfood

Smallfood Sets Out to Transform Alt Seafood Market After Discovering Wild Microalgae Strain

April 28, 2023

Microbial food company Smallfood will soon open a manufacturing plant for the production and scale up of its novel marine whole food, vegan and GMO-free ingredient for the alt seafood market. At the new facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the company will built its fermentation line and establish its biomanufacturing process. After ten years and $20 million in research evaluating over 20,000 microbes, Smallfood discovered a wild microalgae strain capable of producing premium proteins through biomass fermentation. “Because our microbe comes from the sea, our products are licensed as seafood,” commented Marc St-Onge, founder and CEO of Smallfood, in conversation with vegconomist. The ultimate sustainable solution The company’s end-product is premium protein with a natural seafood flavor that can be used for multiple applications. It offers an …

Organisations and Brands:Smallfood

Allen Zelden, founder of Boldly, image supplied

Boldly: “It’s Clear That the Future Will Either Be Filled With Fishless Fish or Fishless Oceans”

April 27, 2023

APAC expert and co-founder of alt-protein accelerator PlantForm, Allen Zelden, revealed his new vegan seafood brand Boldly this January, offering an impressive line of vegan prawns, salmon and tuna sashimi, calamari, shrimp, crab sticks, white fish filets and more. Allen has been keeping details of the brand and future plans under his hat since the launch; it was time we sat down and gave him a vegan seafood grilling. Firstly congratulations on the launch of Boldly! Can you give us your elevator pitch; what was the inspiration behind starting a vegan seafood brand? If I’m being brutally honest, I just felt it was time to disrupt the plant-based sea of sameness with an all-new, positive and fun experience, and what better way to do this …

Organisations and Brands:Boldly

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Aqua Cultured Foods closed a $5.5 million seed Round to launch its seafood alternatives

© Aqua Cultured Foods

Investments & Finance

Aqua Cultured Foods Raises $5.5M to Bring Ultra-Realistic Alt Seafood to Market

April 6, 2023

As it begins consumer tastings of its products in Chicago today, Aqua Cultured Foods announces it has raised $5.5 million in seed funding to bring its ultra-realistic alt seafood to market through chef partners and food service distributors. This new capital brings Aqua’s total funding to $7.6 million. Using a proprietary mycoprotein fermentation process, Aqua develops calamari, shrimp, scallops, tuna, and whitefish alternatives. Its animal and GMO-free products contain natural fiber, protein, and micronutrients and will be available in pieces or minced for its future go-to-market Asian food partners. Mission-aligned partners “We appreciate having mission-aligned partners that offer strong strategic value for the next phase of our growth, which will involve building up the business and brand,” said Anne Palermo, CEO of Aqua Cultured. The round …

Organisations and Brands:Aqua Cultured Foods

Vegan Scallops / Vegan Seafood

© The Plant Based Seafood Co.

Products & Launches

The Plant Based Seafood Co. Unveils ‘First-of-Its-Kind’ Mind Blown Shelf-Stable Sea Scallops

March 30, 2023March 28, 2023

The Plant Based Seafood Co. announces the launch of Mind Blown™ Shelf-Stable Sea Scallops, its first shelf-stable alt-seafood product. Described as a first-of-its-kind creation, the new plant-based scallops will launch on the company’s website beginning March 29th. According to the brand, the Mind Blown Sea Scallops feature a long shelf life with no need for freezing or refrigeration. Made entirely from plants, the Sea Scallops reportedly taste just like real scallops and can be used in a wide range of recipes. The product debuted at Plant Based World Expo in 2022 during a cooking demonstration with celebrity chef and Mind Blown investor Spike Mendelsohn. The company reports the response at the event “far exceeded” its expectations. In February 2023, the Shelf Stable Sea Scallops also …

Organisations and Brands:Mind Blown The Plant Based Seafood Co

Tuna/ Poke Bowl

©Aqua Cultured Foods

Food & Beverage

Aqua Cultured Foods to Begin First Public Tastings of Alt-Tuna, Shrimp and Scallops

March 30, 2023March 23, 2023

US food tech startup Aqua Cultured Foods announces it will begin consumer tastings of its seafood alternatives in Chicago, ahead of its public launch through chef partners and foodservice distributors. Beginning April 6, the startup will hold tastings of several alt-seafood products, including Aqua tuna rolls, shrimp dumplings and scallop crudo, at its headquarters in West Loop, Chicago. According to Aqua, it intends to solicit feedback from participants on the products’ quality compared to conventional seafood products, especially texture. Unique fermentation Founded in 2020, Aqua is developing a range of seafood alternatives, including whitefish, shrimp, scallops and tuna filets, with mycoprotein fermentation technology. Using a unique strain of fungi, the company says it is able to transform plant-based ingredients into realistic seafood alternatives that offer …

Organisations and Brands:Aqua Cultured Foods

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Plant-Based Raw Tuna in Bowl

©Impact Foods/ Onigilly

Products & Launches

Impact Food Debuts Sushi-Grade, Raw Plant-Based Tuna at Onigilly Restaurants in San Francisco

March 1, 2023February 28, 2023

Alt seafood startup Impact Food announces its plant-based, sushi-grade tuna will soon be available at all three locations of Onigilly, a Bay Area Japanese eatery. Starting March 15, Onigilly will be serving Impact’s whole-cut, raw tuna in their Onigilly Rice Balls and Poke Bowls. Following this soft launch, Impact says it plans to officially roll out its tuna product across the US in 2023. In March, Onigilly restaurants in San Francisco, Palo Alto and San Mateo will debut Impact Tuna as a fifth protein option, alongside traditional tuna, salmon, shrimp and tofu. Made with nine ingredients, including pea protein, algae and vegetable juice, Impact Tuna is said to be high in Omega-3 fatty acids, low in calories and completely free from cholesterol and mercury. “We’re …

Organisations and Brands:Impact Foods Impact Tuna Onigilly

plant based seafood

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Meat- and Fish Alternatives

Japanese Ham Manufacturer Develops Plant-Based Seafood Ahead of Global Food Crisis

February 28, 2023February 24, 2023

Japanese Ham Manufacturer NH Foods (日本ハム株式会社), known as Nippon Ham, has developed two plant-based seafood products — fish fries and popcorn shrimp. The Japanese firm, preparing for a shortage of marine resources that could trigger a global food crisis, spent a year developing the alt products using soy protein, seaweed extracts, and other vegetable ingredients to recreate seafood’s texture and flavours, reports Euronews, adding that the products will launch in March 2023. Founded in 1949, Nippon Ham is a global firm with companies worldwide, including China and the US. The company began with the manufacturing of hams and sausage products. Over the years, it has expanded from being Japan’s biggest protein supplier to developing products such as non-allergenic foods and plant-based alternatives. Its products encompass fresh …

Organisations and Brands:Next Meats NH Foods

Salmon Filet

©New School Foods

Investments & Finance

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

February 7, 2023February 2, 2023

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 …

Organisations and Brands:New School Foods

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

January 24, 2023

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 …

Organisations and Brands:ACCELR8 Stray Dog Capital The ISH Company

Boldly Fish

©Boldly

Products & Launches

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

January 24, 2023January 24, 2023

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 …

Organisations and Brands:Boldly SEED Food and Wine

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

Bluu Seafood's cultivated sashimi © Bluu GmbH/Wim Jansen

GFI to Host Fish Cell Culture Workshop for Scientists to Focus on Rapid Advancement of Sector

January 19, 2023January 6, 2023

Alternatives to fish and seafood, providing consumers with nutritious options that do not come from our vastly over-fished seas, witnessed a huge increase throughout 2022 both in demand and in interest from investors. Producers of cultivated fish and seafood are operating in all corners of the planet, with many stating they are ready for market launch pending regulatory approval. Some of the biggest names successfully producing cell-cultivated fish and seafood include: Wildtype – San Francisco USA Bluu Seafood (previously Bluu Biosciences) – Germany BlueNalu – San Diego Umami Meats – Singapore Shiok – Singapore Avant – China Addressing key challenges in cellular seafood In order to address key challenges facing the advancement of the alternative protein industry, The Good Food Institute is hosting a series …

cultivated fish range

© Umami Meats

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Steakholder Foods Receives First Grant to Develop Cultivated Eel and Grouper with Umami Meats

January 4, 2023

Israel-based Steakholder Foods (Nasdaq: STKH) announces it has received its first grant of up to $1M to develop 3D-printed structured eel and grouper products with cultivated seafood startup Umami Meats. The initiative is being funded by a grant from the Singapore Israel Industrial R&D Foundation (SIIRD), a cooperation between – Enterprise Singapore (ESG) and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA). According to Steakholder, the partnership with Umami Meats offers a unique opportunity for market entry in Singapore, the only country where cultivated meat has regulatory approval. The collaboration seeks to develop a scalable process for producing structured cultivated fish products. To create the fish, Steakholder will use newly developed technology for mimicking the flaky texture of cooked fish, which the startup recently submitted for a provisional …

Organisations and Brands:Steakholder Foods Umami Meats

Market & Trends

Allen Zelden: My 4 Trend Predictions for 2023

December 23, 2022December 20, 2022

APAC expert Allen Zelden, co-founder of FUTUREVVORLD and PlantForm Partners, shares his predictions for 2023, spanning alt seafood; ESG; the Australian market; and private labels. They say adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it. That was certainly the case for the plant-based foods industry in 2022. In the face of stagnant sales growth, rising costs and diminished investment appetite, this last year revealed a strong sense of community, an epicentre for collaboration, and an unrelenting message of urgency and purpose. Whilst there is clearly competition amongst the increasing number of plant-based food businesses and service providers, we are all ultimately driven by a mission beyond just turning a profit. Whether that mission is health, animal welfare or the environment, 2022 revealed that our industry truly has a …

aqua-cultured-ceo-anne-palermo

©Aqua Cultured Foods

Op Ed: Anne Palermo, Aqua Cultured Foods

December 2, 2022

In the third instalment of our new Opinion section featuring the views and insights of leaders and figures from across plant-based and cell-based; Anne Palermo of Aqua Cultured Foods shares her thoughts about the current narrative on the alleged slowing-down of the alt meat category. Hype of ‘Slowdown’ in Plant-Based Meat Sector Misses the Point: The Planet Depends on Our Success Research firms, financial analysts, business pundits, and the journalists who amplify them have all contributed to a great deal of doom and gloom about the alt-meat industry in recent months. Declining fortunes of publicly traded companies, the lackluster performance of product lines owned by megacorporations, and flattened post-pandemic sales triggered smug headlines that the plant-based meat market had fizzled out like the coconut oil …

Organisations and Brands:Aqua Cultured Foods