A new collaboration between U.K.-headquartered frozen foods company Nomad Foods Ltd. and the California-based food tech start-up BlueNalu will look to introduce cell-cultured seafood products into the European market.
According to Nomad, this is the first agreement in Europe between a consumer-packaged goods company and a cell-cultured seafood company. Moving forward, they will conduct market research and identify consumer insights, assess regulatory requirements, and explore new business and product opportunities for cell-cultured seafoods in the region.
“The food industry is at a transformational moment as consumer demand for nutritious, high-quality food is growing, the importance of sustainability has never been more apparent, and the role of technology in delivering these needs is accelerating,” Nomad Foods CEO Stéfan Descheemaeker said. “We are at the forefront of a generational shift towards healthier, more sustainable eating and are delighted to announce our collaboration with BlueNalu. Their breakthrough technology in cell-cultured seafood perfectly aligns with our purpose and will enable us to continue to introduce innovative and great tasting seafood products that are good for people, good for the planet and accessible to all.”
BlueNalu, which began operations in 2018, has similar collaborative agreements in place with Pulmuone Co. in South Korea, Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation in Japan, and Thai Union in Thailand.
The company’s species selection strategy focuses on producing fish varieties that are frequently imported, difficult to farm-raise, are overfished or non-sustainable, or which often contain higher levels of environmental contaminants.
Earlier this month, Nomad confirmed plans to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions across its operations and supply chain in line with approved, science-based targets. The Birds Eye, Findus, Iglo, Aunt Bessie's, and Goodfella's brand owner has also signed up to the United Nations’ global climate leadership campaign, Race to Zero.
Photo courtesy of BlueNalu
