BlueNalu, a newly launched cellular aquaculture startup, announced it has successfully raised initial funding from New Crop Capital.
Based in San Diego and founded by chairman Chris Somogyi, president and CEO Lou Cooperhouse, and chief technology officer Chris Dammann, the name BlueNalu incorporates “Nalu”, a Hawaiian word that when used as a noun refers to the waves of the ocean, and when used as a verb means to meditate, ponder, or contemplate.
Recognizing the range of challenges being faced by the wild catch seafood industry, and the ecological and environmental impact the industry has, the founding team brought together expertise in cell biology, IP, food tech, tissue engineering, commercialization, and marketing to sustainably create cell-cultured finned fish, crustaceans, and molluscs in a laboratory setting, reports FoodNavigator-USA.
“Consumers worldwide have become increasingly aware of the challenges that exist in our fishing and seafood industry,” said Cooperhouse. “BlueNalu intends to disrupt the current industry practice, in which fish are farmed or wild-caught. Instead, we plan to produce real seafood products directly from fish cells, in a way that is healthy for people, humane for animals, and sustainable for our planet.”
New Crop
Launched in February 2016, the $25 million New Crop Capital (NCC) fund focuses solely on investing in plant-based and culture-based meat and dairy alternatives and the technology platforms that are designed to advance such products.
Founded by managing director Bruce Friedrich, investment manager Chris Kerr, and managing trustee Nick Cooney, NCC provides Angel, Seed, and Series A funding to early-stage companies that show the potential to disrupt the trillion dollar meat, dairy, egg, and seafood sectors.
Through Friedrich, who is also the executive director of the Washington DC-based non-profit The Good Food Institute (GFI), NCC is closely tied-in with the non-profit which provides marketing, regulatory, and business advice to plant-based and culture-based food startups with the goal of expanding the reach of such products into traditional pipelines including grocery stores, restaurants, and food service vendors.
New Crop Capital’s portfolio is an impressive gathering of what it refers to as “game changers” including, plant-based meat producer Beyond Meat; plant-based and shelf-stable seafood producer Good Catch; plant-based seafood producer New Wave Foods; Israel-based food tech startup Super Meat; plant-based meal kit producer Purple Carrot; and cellular ag innovator Mosameat, among others.
“We are thrilled by the level of expertise of the BlueNalu team, in the diversified fields of cell biology, tissue engineering, intellectual property, food innovation, technology commercialization, and consumer marketing,” said Chris Kerr, chief investment officer, New Crop Capital. “The mission of BlueNalu is totally aligned with our investment strategy, and consistent with consumer demands for products that replace foods derived from conventional animal agriculture.”
Business Model
The company has not divulged the exact nature of the cell lines or growth medium its using, reports FoodNavigator-USA. However, the company has expressed that all its products are being made without genetic modification.
Different from some of its rivals, BlueNalu is not aiming to build out its own brand, but instead, is seeking to forge partnerships with branded CPG companies that already have a presence in food retail and food service in order to bring BlueNalu’s products to market.
Cooperhouse, who is the former executive director of the Rutgers University Food Innovation Center, told FoodNavigator-USA that the company is in talks with a range of CPG companies, food processors, and marketers regarding “… areas of R&D, technology commercialization, corporations, marketing and sales, that will enable us to create value-added food products and distribute these to retail and foodservice markets throughout the globe.”
-Lynda Kiernan
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