Cell-cultivated seafood company BlueNalu is expanding its strategic partnership with Nomad Foods in anticipation of demand for its products in the U.K.
BlueNalu first teamed up with U.K.-headquartered frozen foods company Nomad Foods in 2021 in the first agreement in Europe between a consumer-packaged goods company and a cell-cultured seafood company. The collaboration was designed to conduct market research and identify consumer insights, asses regulatory requirements, and explore new business and product opportunities.
Now over three years later, BlueNalu said that some of that research indicated strong enthusiasm among consumers in the area. In a survey of 2,000 frequent sushi eaters in the U.K., 92 percent of respondents said they were interested in trying BlueNalu’s cell-cultured bluefin tuna toro. Additionally, 73 percent of the respondents said they would visit a sushi restaurant offering the product, and 74 percent said they’d pay the same or more for it compared to bluefin tuna.
“Our cell-cultivated bluefin toro offers a new, high-quality seafood experience — nutrient-rich, free from environmental contaminants, and designed to complement a global supply chain that is increasingly fragile and unpredictable,” BlueNalu Founder, President, and CEO Lou Cooperhouse said.
The enhanced collaboration between BlueNalu and Nomad Foods also comes after the company gained acceptance into the UK Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) novel foods regulatory sandbox. The sandbox program is funded by the U.K. Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology’s Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund and is intended to ensure cell-cultured products, or CCPs, are safe for consumers while also supporting innovation in the sector.
"Safe innovation is at the heart of this program. By prioritizing consumer safety and making sure new foods, like CCPs are safe, we can support growth in innovative sectors,” FSA Chief Scientific Advisor Robin May said. “Our aim is to ultimately provide consumers with a wider choice of new food, while maintaining the highest safety standards."
BlueNalu was named to the program along with U.K.-based Hoxton Farms, Roslin Technologies, and Uncommon Bio; France-based Gourmey and Vital Meat; Australia-based Vow; and The Netherlands-based Mosa Meat.
“We’re proud to work with trusted partners and forward-thinking regulatory agencies to deliver safe, consistent, and desirable seafood to consumers in the coming years. Our acceptance into the U.K. regulatory sandbox reinforces BlueNalu’s position as a global company at the forefront of food system innovation,” Cooperhouse said.
BlueNalu said the FSA program allows the selected companies to work collaboratively to navigate the regulatory process for novel foods, ensuring a high level of safety and transparency. BlueNalu said it is the only U.S.-based company to have been admitted to the program to date, and the only one focused primarily on cell-cultured seafood.
As it works to navigate the regulatory process, BlueNalu said its expanded partnership with Nomad Foods will allow it to focus on market-entry strategies in the U.K. for when it gains approval. The initial focus will be on premium foodservice and limited-time offerings aligning with consumer demand.
“As a company that has a long history of successfully introducing innovative and great tasting fish and seafood products, we are excited to continue working alongside BlueNalu to bring this transformative technology to market,” Nomad Foods Chief Research, Development, and Quality Officer Carly Arnold said. “The goals of cell-cultivated seafood to offer alternative yet nutritious, safe and sustainable products aligns with our commitment to providing consumers with access to great tasting seafood that is both good for them and good for the planet.”
