As it begins consumer tastings of its products in Chicago today, Aqua Cultured Foods announced it has raised $5.5 million in seed funding to bring its ultra-realistic alt seafood to market through chef partners and foodservice distributors. This new capital brings Aqua’s total funding to $7.6 million.
Using a proprietary mycoprotein fermentation process, Aqua makes alternatives to calamari, shrimp, scallops, tuna and white fish. Its animal and GMO-free products contain natural fiber, protein and micronutrients and will be sliced or minced for Asian food partners in future markets.
Mission-aligned partners
“We appreciate mission-aligned partners who provide strong strategic value for our next phase of growth, which involves building the business and brand,” said Anne Palermo, CEO of Aqua Cultured.
The round was led by Stray Dog Capital, H Venture Partners, with participation from Aztec Capital Management and Amplifica Capital. Previous backers: Supply Change Capital, Big Idea Ventures, HPA, Era VC, Kingfisher Family Investments, and Swiss Pampa joined the seed fund.
The round also included a strategic investment From CJ CheilJedang, a South Korea-based global food and bio company that owns famous brands such as Bibigo.
Stewards of investor capital
The new investment will equip the company’s recently acquired food-grade facility, which requires minimal upgrades to scale its fermentation process using relatively affordable inputs and equipment. Aqua says the path to price parity is the lower cost of scaling its proprietary fermentation processes
Additionally, the funds will allow Aqua Cultured to bring its products to market, add key talent and expand the list of restaurants and food service outlets for this year’s product introduction. In October last year, Aqua Cultured announced a collaboration with Swiss hospitality and catering company SV Group to make Aqua’s alt seafood products available through SV’s smart fridges, cafeterias and event venue clients.
“Being good stewards of investor capital is important to us, so in addition to hitting milestones ahead of schedule, we’re benefiting from government programs, academic resources and other benefits to go to market faster,” added Palermo.
Additionally, looking to lower costs, the company announced an accreditation to the Illinois Office of Business Development’s EDGE program. The program provides tax incentives to expanding companies and is estimated to save Aqua hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes over the next decade.
Human and planetary benefits
While often praised for its health benefits, fish contains pollutants such as microplastics, mercury, pesticides, antibiotics, dioxins and PCBs, as well as high cholesterol levels and saturated fat, says Aqua. Consumption of seafood, especially finfish, has been linked to various food-borne illnesses caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites.
Furthermore, commercial fishing activities have been linked to many negative environmental impacts, including declines in fish populations, ecosystem damage, accumulation of plastic waste, and accidental capture of non-target species.
“We are passionate about supporting founding teams that help create unique technologies and approaches that lead to a more sustainable future; That’s what Aqua is doing “Alt-seafood has tremendous potential to drive both human and planetary benefits in a massive $100B+ global market,” said Johnny Rim, partner at Stray Dog Capital.