BLUENALU TIE-UPS TARGET CELL-CULTURED SEAFOOD EXPANSION IN ASIA

PUBLISHING DATE
May 4, 2021

California-based BlueNalu has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with two Asian seafood providers – Thai Union and Mitsubishi Corporation – to assess market strategies for cell-cultured seafood in the Asia region.

The company, which makes a variety of seafood products directly from fish cells, says the collaborations represent a mutual interest in the commercialisation of cell-cultured seafood in Asia and a commitment to sustainable solutions to meet rising demand.

Global seafood consumption is at an all-time high and continues to increase, particularly in Asia. However, current seafood production from wild and farm-raised sources cannot keep pace with demand according to the United Nations which points to a big gap between supply and demand that will need closing. Cell-cultured seafood is seen as one solution.

The independent agreements with Thai Union, which also participated in BlueNalu’s latest round of financing, and with Mitsubishi Corporation, include plans to conduct market research and develop consumer insights, assess regulatory requirements, and explore business and product opportunities throughout Asia.

BlueNalu previously announced strategic investments from Pulmuone, a global food company headquartered in South Korea, and Sumitomo Corporation of Americas part of an integrated global trading company headquartered in Japan.

BlueNalu accelerates commercialisation

On the latest tie-ups, Lou Cooperhouse, President and CEO of BlueNalu said: “The collaborations with Mitsubishi Corporation and Thai Union will help us to accelerate our pathway to commercialisation. We are keen to continue working with industry partners in Asia and other markets, and we are actively pursuing opportunities.”

To date, BlueNalu has investors located in 14 nations including four in Asia: Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

Furthering the company’s commitment to the Asia market, and Japan in particular, BlueNalu recently joined the Cellular Agriculture Study Group of the Center for Rulemaking Strategies (CRS) at Tama University in Tokyo, a consortium investigating pathways to bring cell-cultured foods to Japan.

BlueNalu’s technology platform allows it to produce a wide array of seafood products from a variety of seafood species. With wild fisheries and fish farms increasingly vulnerable to anthropogenic and environmental pressures, cell-cultured seafood could offer a regenerative seafood solution that is traceable, secure, and safe.


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