Among the investors in cellular aquaculture firm BlueNalu in its latest funding round of USD 20 million (EUR 19 million) is a Saudi prince, Rich Products, the parent company of SeaPak, and feed giant Nutreco.
BlueNalu’s latest Series A funding will enable the supplier to develop a good manufacturing practices (GMP) pilot production facility in San Diego, California, U.S.A., prepare for the market launch of its seafood produced directly from fish cells, expand its team, and implement strategic alliances for global operations and distribution, the supplier said in a press release.
Strategic investors include global supply chain leaders that will provide guidance and raw material expertise to BlueNalu. The list includes Nutreco, a Dutch provider of aquafeed that BlueNalu recently partnered with; Alsip, Illinois, U.S.A.-based Griffith Foods, a global product development partner to the food industry; Pulmuone, a South Korean producer of sustainable food products, and Japanese global investor Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, both of which are positioned to distribute BlueNalu’s products in Asia; and Rich Products Ventures, a multinational supplier of various bakery products, which has a growing line of brands in the value-added seafood category marketed by its subsidiary, SeaPak.
"BlueNalu has made considerable progress toward bringing cell-based seafood products to the world. We have designed and executed a platform technology in which we will ultimately offer a broad array of sustainable cell-based seafood products to consumers, and our team has been extremely focused on implementing systems and processes that will be needed for cost-effective, large-scale production,” BlueNalu President and CEO Lou Cooperhouse said in a press release. “We are extremely thankful to the committed group of visionaries who participated in our earlier financing round and have invested again in this round; and we are eager to form partnerships with these five strategic investors, so that we can efficiently commercialize and launch our cell-based seafood products in nations around the world."
Other investors in the new round of funding include KBW Ventures, led by Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud; celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi; Agronomics Ltd.; Beyond Impact Vegan Partners LLP; New Crop Capital Trust; and Sustainable Foodies.
In 2018, BlueNalu secured USD 4.5 million (EUR 4.1 million) in funding and has attracted investors from 11 nations, “demonstrating global interest in the disruptive potential for the company,” BlueNalu said.
“As global demand for seafood continues to increase, and our supply continues to be compromised, we are excited at the potential for BlueNalu to play a significant role in feeding the planet in the decades to come,” Stray Dog Capital Co-Founder and Chair Chuck Laue said.
BlueNalu is one of several cell-based meat companies gearing up for larger-scale production in the near future. The Good Food Institute, a U.S. nonprofit that promotes plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs, as well as cultivated meat, recently entered two separate partnerships to advance research in cellular aquaculture.
According to Food Navigator, Blue Nalu is aiming to have a product ready for a test market in late 2021.
“We have witnessed extremely rapid global growth in plant-based foods, and BlueNalu is clearly at the forefront of this next generation of alternative proteins that many are predicting will have considerable growth and significant market penetration in the coming years,” New Crop Capital’s Chief Investment Officer Chris Kerr said.
Photo courtesy of BlueNalu
