Umami Bioworks CEO: Growing the cultivated seafood industry in South Korea through consumer education

Umami Bioworks is partnering with biotech firm KCell Biosciences and bioprocess solutions provider WSG to propel sustainable cultivated seafood production in South Korea. The companies intend to jointly invest in a GMP-compliant facility to produce cultivated eel and other seafood species.

The parties signed a memorandum of understanding on September 5 to combine expertise in cell culture media, bioprocessing hardware and seafood cultivation technology to create a scalable production system.

“South Korea is very well-positioned from an infrastructure perspective to scale cultivated production. Domestic production capability for steel, culture media and biopharmaceuticals has laid the foundation for a strong domestic value chain and local industry for cultivated food production. We don’t see significant barriers to producing within Korea,” Umami Bioworks CEO Mihir Pershad tells Food Ingredients First.

Beyond eel, red snapper and tuna are also in the pipeline. “Both of these species have significant market potential in South Korea across various segments, from raw forms in kimbap and hwareo-hoe to a wide variety of cooked seafood dishes.”

Will the market bite?

South Korea announced in May that it was setting up a unique “regulation-free special zone” where food tech companies can research and develop cultivated meat in a region with more accessible regulations. The move aims to catalyze innovation and promote cellular agriculture-focused projects.

The country has one of the largest per capita seafood markets globally, holding promise to commercialize sustainable and ethical seafood solutions.

Despite economic viability, Umami Bioworks sees consumer education as an “important initial barrier” in many locations, including South Korea. It aims to address this by working with commercial partners to communicate the benefits and safety of cultivated seafood.

“We envision sharing category messaging about the benefits of cultivated seafood, including products free from microplastics, heavy metals and parasites, which are safer to consume raw,” says Pershad.

South Korea is setting up a unique “regulation-free special zone” where food tech companies can research and develop cultivated meat in a region with more accessible regulations.“For individual products, we will communicate the unique value proposition for that seafood product, from delicious and high protein filets to sustainable and accessible cultural delicacies that are endangered in the wild.”

Regulatory compliance and expansion

Advocates of alt-proteins for more robust food systems have highlighted the need for efficient regulatory paths for successful adoption.

While it’s too early for Umami Bioworks to comment on the timeline of full regulatory approval, there is indicative guidance from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

“Being first in a new regulatory scheme often means the process will take a bit longer, but we’re excited to engage with the regulators to bring cultivated seafood to market that has passed the highest level of safety review. We are adapting our existing documents to fit the MFDS framework and translating key details before submission,” Pershad shares.

As the global demand for protein grows exponentially, Asia, which accounts for more than half of all protein consumption growth this century, is emerging as a critical location for R&D in alt-proteins.

Umami Bioworks, which will lead the consortium in South Korea, has plans to establish more production facilities across Asia in partnership with current strategic partners.

“Our experience across multiple species has shown that we should be able to use the same bioprocess hardware and very similar production line configurations for many seafood products across a range of species.”

“In collaboration with the team at WSG, we are taking a modular design approach for the production line, which will enable us to flex certain parts of the production line if requirements shift between products or accommodate different product targets in various countries. Media formulations will naturally change between species, but KCell has demonstrated the capability to support us in producing these media variants at attractive prices and volumes,” he concludes.