Formerly perceived as an insignificant upstart in the world of seafood, plant-based alternatives are now the center of attention for the U.S. seafood industry, with some viewing the newcomer as a threat and others as an opportunity.
Among the big names in the seafood business stepping into plant-based analogs are Bumble Bee Seafood and Thai Union-owned Chicken of the Sea. In March 2020, Bumble Bee signed a distribution agreement with Gathered Foods Corporation, which makes Good Catch plant-based seafood analog products, giving it access to its sales, distribution, and logistics network. Bumble Bee Senior Vice President of Global Corporate and Social Responsibility Leslie Hushka told SeafoodSource in July the company is now “looking at a number of other [plant-based alternative companies] as well.”
“Seafood is the next wave in the plant-based revolution that has been centered in the dairy and meat aisle,” Bumble Bee said in its Good Catch announcement.
In July, Gathered Foods landed a contract to test two of its plant-based seafood analog products in select Long John Silver’s restaurants. Long John Silver’s Chief Marketing Officer Stephanie Mattingly told SeafoodSource Gathered Foods’ Plant-Based Breaded Fish-Free Fillet and Plant-Based Breaded CrabFree Cake will be offered to customers at five of its restaurants in California and Georgia.
“The plant-based seafood market is projected to grow USD 1.3 billion [EUR 1.1 billion] over the next decade, and we anticipate that it will be the next big wave, after seeing the initial success of plant-based burgers and chicken,” Mattingly said.
Bumble Bee’s rival, Thai Union, also jumped into the game with the launch of its own plant based protein brand, OMG, though its products – which include a vegan crab cake and a vegan crab shumai – are still available only in Asia. Thai Union has also invested in cell-based seafood start-ups Aleph Farms and BlueNalu (Rich Products, the owner of SeaPak, is also a BlueNalu investor).
“Thai Union is an industry leader in innovation and sustainability, and cell-based seafood perfectly aligns with both of these goals,” Thai Union President and CEO Thiraphong Chansiri said.
According to the Good Food Institute, a trade group representing the plant-based food products industry, alternative seafood “is poised to become an increasingly important segment of the industry.” There are now at least 85 companies producing seafood analogs from plants, microbes (through fermentation), and from animal cells, according to the group.
“In 2020, the U.S. retail plant-based food market grew 27 percent, almost twice the rate of the total retail food market (which grew faster than normal as a result of COVID19 shifting sales to the retail channel), to just over USD 7 billion [EUR 6.1 billion]. U.S. plant-based meat retail sales grew 45 percent, flying past the USD 1 billion [EUR 865.4 million] mark for the first time and closing out the year at USD 1.4 billion [EUR 1.2 billion] in total sales,” it said. “There is arguably no category more urgent and ripe for innovation than seafood. Alternative seafood retail sales in the U.S. grew by 23 percent, from USD 10 million [EUR 8.7 million] in 2019 to USD 12 million [EUR 10.4 million] in 2020. While this early growth is promising, alternative seafood remains a market whitespace, and is a fraction of the size of the alternative protein market, which is, in turn, a small slice of the overall meat and seafood market.”
According to market tracker FMI, 46 percent of Americans said they are likely to try plant-based seafood analogs and one-quarter of U.S. consumers say they’re very likely to try such items. Shoppers willing to try plant-based seafood alternatives tend to skew male and average 40 years of age with affluent household incomes, higher education levels, and children in their household, according to FMI’s 2021 Power of Seafood report.
“Shoppers interested in plant-based fish alternatives are also concerned about nutritious and healthy eating (57 percent) and sustainability (62 percent). More than half (54 percent) also had high expectations for the taste of plant-based fish. Curiosity was also a reason for 35 percent of seafood shoppers to consider trying plant-based fish alternatives,” the report said. “[But] without product on the market to test, it remains to be seen [whether there will be uptake]. There are some strong trends around health and well-being and sustainability for plantbased protein companies to benefit from. However, companies will have to match shoppers’ perceptions of plant-based products already on the market when it comes to taste, convenience, and culinary experience in order to win over shoppers.”
Considering the currently miniscule national sales of plant-based seafood analogs, investment in the sector has been enormous. Investment in plant-based seafood analogs reached USD 70 million (EUR 59 million) in the first half of 2021, according to the Good Food Institute. Among those receiving funding were Santiago, Chile-based NotCo, which recently raised USD 235 million (EUR 200 million) to help it add new products in the U.S. market and elsewhere, as well as establish markets in Mexico and Canada. While the company currently focuses on plant-based alternatives to cow’s milk and beef, it plans to add plant-based seafood items soon.
Edina, Minnesota-based CLO-CLO Vegan Foods’ new Red Curry Shrimp Bowl is among the first frozen meals to include a plant-based shrimp analog, and the company is also planning a Mac and Cheeze Bowl that will contain its vegan shrimp product.
“More than ever, today’s consumers are looking for plant-based seafood solutions that are packed with flavor and convenient, while being more conscious about the food they eat and products they buy,” CLOCLO Vegan Foods Vice President Wendy Hinnenkamp said. “CLO-CLO is meeting this demand by offering new plant-based entrees that appeal to vegans by satisfying cravings of traditional seafood and texture, but also provides plant-based nutrition and goodness in an easy, ready-to-heat format.”
After garnering USD 18 million (EUR 15 million) in funding earlier this year from the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, New York City-based New Wave Foods launched its plant-based shrimp analog into North American restaurants and foodservice outlets in April. On the West Coast, San Francisco, California-based cell-cultured seafood producer Finless Foods has introduced a new plant-based tuna analog, with the goal of making it widely available to U.S. consumers by 2022 via restaurants and foodservice channels.
“We’ve developed a delicious, versatile product that makes an ideal plant-based substitute for raw tuna,” Finless Foods CEO and Co-Founder Michael Selden said. “The feedback received from our culinary partners has been phenomenal, likening the flavor and texture to sushi-grade tuna.”
The plant-based seafood industry is expected to grow 28 percent annually over the next decade, according to Finless Foods. That’s benefitting newcomers to the space and old-timers alike, with one of the original makers of plant-based seafood analogs, Sebastopol, California-based Sophie’s Kitchen, debuting Vegan Crab Cakes and Vegan Breaded Shrimp in Walmart stores in midSeptember 2020 and revamping its Plant-Based Toona – sold at select Stop & Shop, Wegmans, and other grocery and specialty stores, as well as on Amazon – earlier this year.
As sales in the plant-based food category surge, the company has realized fast growth as well.
“We’ve been building the brand and category for 10 years, and with the explosive success of Beyond Meat and movies like Game Changers and NGOs like Veganuary, everything has come together to make the nation ready for plant-based seafood,” Sophie’s Kitchen CEO Miles Woodruff said.
The company landed a USD 5.6 million (EUR 4.9 million) investment in September 2021 to expand its product development. Woodruff said part of the supplier’s core strategy is building its operations in fishing communities so “we’re not taking jobs, but creating consistent year round work in an industry that is erratic and seasonal, and facing an uncertain future because of increasing government regulations.”
“We see this as an opportunity for seafood distributors and buyers, and the industry as a whole, and not as competition,” Woodruff said.
Photo courtesy of New Wave Foods
