Berlin-based Pacifico Biolab believes it has a unique approach that uses fermentation to create whole muscle structures, aiming to replace traditional seafood with alternatives.
Fermentation, the process of growing cells in bioreactors, is already used to make many alternative proteins such as cultured meat, but co-founder and CEO Zach Austin We call the process a “complete transformation.”
Prior to joining Pacifico Biolab, Austin worked as a strategy consultant at McKinsey in London. After he finished his job at the UK government's coronavirus task force, he met co-founder Washington Nelson Logroño Vintimilla, who had moved to Europe from Ecuador for graduate studies in biotechnology. Ta.
“Fermentation, which we often hear about, is great for making raw products,” Austin told TechCrunch. “Seafood is highly fragmented and requires different technology approaches to cover different types of products. We produce nutritious biomass and our formulations Suitable for fish fillet products.”
The company's fermentation process involves culturing multiple microorganisms, including mycelium (mushroom roots), to provide nutrition, flavor, and texture. Pacifico Biolabs also uses side streams from other food production to reduce food waste. Furthermore, since fermentation requires a large capital investment in infrastructure development, the company is building a new production process.
Pacifico Biolabs quietly launched today with $3.3 million in pre-seed funding. The round was co-led by Simon Capital and FoodLabs, with participation from Exceptional Ventures and Sprout & About Ventures.
The startup is the latest company to attract venture capital investment into alternative seafood. This is an area that has seen a lot of movement in early 2023 from companies such as ISH Company, New School Foods, Aqua Cultured Foods, and Bluu Seafood. Investors also rated the year as a year of significant progress in the alternative seafood sector.
Aquablurb, Fishsite's newsletter on investing in aquaculture and alternative seafood, reported $808 million in venture capital announced over 56 rounds in 2023.
As the pre-seed round suggests, Pacifico Biolab is still in the very early stages. The new funding will therefore be used to scale up the fermentation process and launch the first products on the European market with regulatory approval.
For now, the company plans to work on optimizations and fine-tuning, but Austin says this can only be done on a larger scale. Once the company gets up to speed, it could develop alternative seafood products that cost 80% less than the cheapest farmed fish, Austin said.
“It’s important to create a working model that is easy to scale,” he said. “It's low-cost to make, so it's economical to use in everything from chicken to mayonnaise. It's definitely part of our 10- to 15-year plan.”