New collaborations position BlueNalu for significant growth in Asia
BlueNalu, a leading innovative food company developing a variety of seafood products directly from fish cells, recently announced the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with two leading seafood providers in Asia — Thai Union, a global seafood producer with branded products sold worldwide and a dedication to sustainability and innovation, headquartered in Thailand, and Mitsubishi Corporation, a globally integrated business enterprise, headquartered in Japan, with a network of around 1,700 group companies across 90 countries.
Both agreements are designed to assess market development strategies for BlueNalu’s cell-cultured seafood specifically in Asia where there is high demand for quality seafood and the potential for diminishing supply to feed its population during the coming years.
The collaborations represent a mutual interest in the commercialization of cell-cultured seafood in Asia and a commitment to sustainable seafood solutions in order to meet rising demand. Global seafood consumption is at an all-time high and continues to increase, particularly in Asia, outpacing the growth in population.
Current seafood production from wild-caught and farm-raised sources cannot keep pace with demand according to the United Nations, which projects a supply chain gap representing 28 million MT of new seafood production will be needed by 2030, and cell-cultured seafood is seen as a third solution that can help meet that demand.
The independent agreements with Thai Union, who also participated in BlueNalu’s latest round of financing, and with Mitsubishi Corporation include collaborations to conduct market research and develop consumer insights in various regions, assess regulatory requirements, and explore business and product opportunities that could accelerate the introduction of cell-cultured seafood products throughout Asia.
