Urchinomics, a sea urchin aquaculture innovator based in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, entered into two separate business arrangements on 23 and 24 July as part of its overall mission of restoring kelp beds through harvesting urchins and growing them to market size.
The company announced a new capital and business alliance with Osaka, Japan-based Food and Life Companies (F&LC) signed on 23 July, which includes a supply deal. The next day, Urchinomics’ parent company, Verdant Bloom, signed a share-purchase agreement with NYK, which is centered around blue carbon credits for restoring kelp forests.
Urchinomics harvests undersized or underfilled sea urchins from regions where they have overgrazed kelp beds. The company then uses a proprietary feed to grow them in farms until they reach harvestable size. Profits from sales of sea urchin roe, which is popular in sushi restaurants, where it is served as uni, are then put back into restoring more kelp forests.
Urchinomics began with a semi-commercial scale feeding facility in 2019 and then secured JPY 630 million (then USD 5.7 million, EUR 4.9 million) through a Series A fundraising round in 2021. In 2022, the company reported its sea urchin feeding system was seeing success, and later that year, the company secured the world’s first blue carbon credit for kelp-bed restoration.
Urchinomics CEO Perry Bevin said the new partnership with Japanese shipping and logistics company NYK is a “game-changer” for the company.
“It validates our innovative approach to marine restoration and sustainable aquaculture,” Bevin said. “With NYK's support, we can significantly scale our efforts to restore kelp forests and make a meaningful impact on climate change. Working with partners who share our vision for nature-based solutions is essential for achieving our goals."
NYK said its investment is part of its mission to give back to the oceans, given its role as a logistics company mainly centered around marine transportation. The company said the new investment will help it contribute to Urchinomics’ goal of preserving marine biodiversity in seaweed beds and will also help it acquire know-how on the conversion of blue carbon to credits given Urchinomics’ experience.
“Through this investment, NYK would like to vigorously pursue solutions to the social issue of rocky-shore denudation and the new challenge of creating blue carbon credits,” NYK Executive Officer Shinichi Yanagisawa said.
The company’s capital and business alliance with F&LC will see Urchinomics provide the company’s many restaurant chains with urchins. The company operates 1,100 different restaurants under the brands Sushiro, Kyotaru, Sushi Misaki, and Sugitama in nine countries and regions, including Japan. F&LC said the partnership will help the company meet its commitment to sustainable seafood procurement while also giving it a supply of high-quality sea urchins.
“Through collaboration with Urchinomics, I hope we will be able to establish planned manufacture and a secure stable procurement base of sea urchins, which we previously had to rely on wild catch,” F&LC President and CEO Koichi Mizutome said in a release. “Also, I have high hopes [this will] cause positive effects on restoring kelp forests through effective use of natural resources by utilizing barren urchins, which has been difficult to consume as food.”
For Urchinomics, having a steady customer and the capital provided by F&LC will help it enhance its farming capabilities. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"We are thrilled to join forces with F&LC, a company that shares our vision for sustainability and innovation in seafood production,” Bevin said. “This partnership will enable us to enhance our capacity to deliver high-quality sea urchins to consumers, all while making a positive environmental impact. Working with partners who share our commitment to nature-based solutions is key to our success."
