APAC expert and co-founder of Alt-Protein Accelerator Platform, Allen Zelden, boldly unveiled his new vegan seafood brand this January, featuring vegan shrimp, salmon and tuna sashimi, calamari, shrimp, crab sticks, white fish filets and more.
Allen has kept details of the brand and future plans under his hat since launch; It’s time we sit down and give him a vegan seafood grilling.
First of all congratulations on the bold launch! Can you give us your elevator pitch; What was the inspiration behind starting a vegan seafood brand?
If I’m brutally honest, I felt it was time to disrupt the sea of plant-based uniformity with a new, positive and fun experience, and what better way to do that than to offer the foodservice market a wider range? Plant-based seafood that surprises and delights diners with the same classic flavors they love, but without costing the ocean.
Plant-based seafood is still uncharted territory for millions of people, and with consumers increasingly looking for alternatives to conventional meat and dairy—along with the fact that seafood is the most popular in foodservice—I strongly believe that now is the right time for plant-based seafood products to be next. evolution
Can you tell us a bit about how and why an Australian plant-based seafood company is launching in the US?
To date, companies from the US and Europe are leading the charge with new, innovative plant-based foods while Australia remains largely a trailblazer when it comes to expanding beyond our shores into the US.
“…for Australian plant-based food to ‘extend’ beyond our shores, we need to ‘extend’ beyond burgers”
Almost two-thirds of our agricultural produce is exported, and with growing demand for Australian food and produce worldwide, it’s only a matter of time before global sentiment for Australian plant-based foods spreads. however, For Australian plant-based food to ‘extend’ beyond our shores, we need to ‘extend’ beyond burgers.And I’m excited to play a part in driving that with our plant-based seafood range.
What about the product range – can you tell our readers about the number of products in the portfolio, which are different and why?
We are launching with a line of eight vegetarian seafood dishes; Calamari steak and rings, salmon and tuna sashimi, shrimp, prawn bites, crab sticks and whitefish fillets. It’s hard to pick just one or two ‘stand outs’ as I’m consistently surprised by the versatility of these products thanks to our key ingredient Konjac, which we use for all our products (bar the whitefish fillets).
One of the many advantages of using cognac as an ingredient is that it does not have much flavor which allows dishes to take on the flavor of whatever sauce or seasoning you choose. We then optimize this flavor with Konjac’s unique, jelly-like texture across our spectrum of versatile seafood options, making it perfect for chefs to add their own creative spin to these dishes in all cuisines.
Boldly sell to retail, food service, or both?
At this stage, boldly will be exclusive to food service. Internally, I often describe those who work in food service as ‘directors of the first impression’. Because the foodservice channel is often the first place many plant-curious consumers are willing to ‘experience’ meat alternatives.
Historically, the foodservice channel has also contributed to the entry and success of the plant-based food market. For example, Beyond Meat’s exposure to the foodstuff business was a helpful growth and brand driver for them in the early days, with 50% of their overall gross revenue reportedly coming from foodservice sales in 2019.
However, given growing trade pressures as well as current fragmented distribution challenges, the global foodservice industry needs access to more competitive and strategic partners if we are to drive radical system change to address the climate crisis and sustainably meet our needs. Growing population.
While the plant-based food industry is still very nascent compared to the overall food and beverage market, it is at an exciting tipping point hence this unique opportunity-based trajectory to fuel the foodservice ecosystem with classic seafood options in the ‘growth-stage’ of plants.
Where next for the brave? Will you be expanding to more markets after the US? What is in the pipeline in terms of product development/innovation?
Following on from our first previews with PLANTA and the SEED Food and Wine Festival in Miami earlier this year, we will officially launch next month at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago and then through select foodservice partners across the US.
“…we are very excited to see the trajectory ahead”
We’ve already lined up some exciting partners – most of which we can’t reveal yet – but given the early interest we’ve generated from some of the world’s leading chefs and renowned institutions, we’re very excited about the trajectory ahead (of course you’ll hear it first on Vegconomist will get!)
To look beyond the US and Australia – and to go beyond ‘sea’ food to ‘land’ food – is absolutely a possibility but only based on organic demand and only as an organic extension of our events with the platform, private label arm global across five continents. A plant-based manufacturing operation within distribution and markets over 1,000 SKUs worldwide.
Why now? Why was it important to you, to try and disrupt what was happening in terms of the seafood industry with this launch?
According to WWF, seafood is the world’s largest traded food commodity with nearly 3 billion people relying on it as the main source of protein in their diet. At the same time, the fishing industry is fraught with public health problems – from heavy metal and mercury pollution to the overuse of antibiotics in factory fishing.
“Seafood is the world’s largest commercial food commodity with an estimated 3 billion people depending on it”
Overfishing threatens the future of marine biodiversity, and consumers are increasingly open to innovative alternatives, It is clear that the future will be filled with either fishless fish or fishless seasAnd we are boldly on a mission to drive consumers to better choices.
Can you speak to Brave’s larger mission and vision for the future?
Broadly speaking, we want to build a community around positivity, align and unite with other businesses and organizations that are doing great work, and inspire as many people as possible to change from the belief that animal food is a necessary part. One’s diet and identity.
Boldly for us, that starts with seeing more plant-based seafood choices on the menu that are cheaper, tastier, more nutritious and more appealing to consumers.
As diners now expect plant-based burger options at all fast-food restaurants, I truly believe it’s only a matter of time before we place the same expectations on every sushi, seafood, and fish and chip shop worldwide, and that’s our mission and for Be the catalyst to boldly VISION.