Cell-cultured seafood poised for “significant growth” in Asia, BlueNalu partners with Thai Union & Mitsubishi Corporation

29 Apr 2021 --- Pioneers in cell-based seafood BlueNalu, which develops a variety of seafood products directly from fish cells, is teaming up with two key seafood providers in Asia – Thai Union and Mitsubishi Corporation – to accelerate a market development strategy for cell-cultured Seafood in Asia where demand is rising.

The collaboration represent a mutual interest in commercializing cell-cultured seafood in Asia and a commitment to sustainable seafood solutions.

Spotlight on seafood
Global seafood consumption is at an all-time high and continues to increase, particularly in Asia, outpacing the population growth.

According to the United Nations, current seafood production from wild-caught and farm-raised sources cannot keep pace with demand, which projects a supply chain gap representing 28 million metric tons of new seafood production will be needed by 2030. Cell-cultured seafood is seen as a third solution that can help meet that demand.  

Thai Union is a global seafood producer with branded products sold worldwide, headquartered in Thailand.The independent agreements with Thai Union, which also participated in BlueNalu’s latest round of financing, and Mitsubishi Corporation include collaborations to conduct market research and develop consumer insights in various regions. 

The partners will also explore business and product opportunities that could accelerate the introduction of cell-cultured seafood products throughout Asia. 

BlueNalu’s business strategy is to partner with multinational companies on market research, regulatory affairs, product design and development, manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution to efficiently bring BlueNalu’s branded cell-cultured seafood products to consumers worldwide in the years ahead. 

Asia a key market
Previously, BlueNalu announced strategic investments from South Korea-based Pulmuone and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, which is headquartered in Japan. 

“[The collaborations with Mitsubishi Corporation and Thai Union]  will help us to accelerate our pathway to commercialization and advance BlueNalu’s mission to provide the world with sustainable seafood options,” says Lou Cooperhouse, president and CEO of BlueNalu. 

“We recognized early on that our ability to make the biggest impact at BlueNalu will be in part due to collaborations with leading global organizations that can facilitate the quickest and most efficient pathway to market possible, at the least possible cost.”  

The company is keen to continue working with industry partners in Asia and other markets. It is actively pursuing opportunities to create such relationships worldwide.  

Furthering the company’s commitment to the Asia market and Japan, in particular, BlueNalu recently joined the Cellular Agriculture Study Group of the Center for Rulemaking Strategies (CRS) at Tama University in Tokyo, a consortium of professionals from academia, industry and government regulatory agencies investigating pathways to bring cell-cultured foods to market in Japan. 

Culinary culture
BlueNalu’s technology platform is designed to produce a wide array of seafood products from various seafood species to meet consumer needs in each region it goes to market. 

With wild fisheries and fish farms increasingly vulnerable to various anthropogenic and environmental pressures, BlueNalu’s cell-cultured seafood products could offer a regenerative, continuous, consistent and healthy seafood solution that is traceable, secure and safe.  BlueNalu develops a variety of seafood products directly from fish cells.

“I see tremendous opportunity for BlueNalu to provide seafood that is 100 percent yield with consistent, year-round supply, and has the potential to advance the industry into one that can impact more sustainable change,,” adds Roy Yamaguchi, celebrity chef, BlueNalu investor and advisory board member.

This is especially important in Asian cuisine where seafood plays such an integral role, he adds. 

“I’ll be excited to watch BlueNalu’s cell-cultured seafood enter Asian cuisine, providing valuable benefits to both chefs and consumers in countries where seafood plays a key role in culinary culture,” Yamaguchi continues. 

BlueNalu has received investments from investors located in 14 nations to date originating from Asia (Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand); Europe (Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden and the UK); the Middle East (Israel, Saudi Arabia); South America (Brazil); Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala) and North America (US).

This latest announcement comes on the heels of US$60 million of financing, announced in January, and is indicative of the company’s approach and commitment to partnerships in meeting the global demand for high-quality seafood. 

Edited by Elizabeth Green