Lab-grown seafood business BlueNalu has expanded a strategic partnership with Birds Eye owner Nomad Foods, to support the commercialisation of its cell-cultivated seafood products in the UK and across Europe.
The tie-up builds on an existing partnership dating back to 2021 and will see the two companies “work together on delivering a market-entry strategy for the sale of BlueNalu’s cell-cultivated seafood in the UK”, said California-based BlueNalu.
The business, which counts London-listed cellular agriculture group Agronomics as an investor, is one of eight companies chosen by the Foods Standards Agency for its recently announced ‘Sandbox’ programme – a £1.6m research project that the cultivated meat sector hopes will form the basis of new regulations permitting the sale of its products in the UK.
BlueNalu said it was planning on developing products with Nomad that would initially go on sale in premium foodservice, alongside “limited-time offerings that align with consumer demand for high-quality seafood options”.
The partnership would also support BlueNalu’s ongoing work with the Sandbox programme, it added. BlueNalu is the only company within the programme focused primarily on cell-cultivated seafood.
It comes as new research sponsored by BlueNalu also revealed “strong enthusiasm” among UK sushi consumers for cell-cultivated bluefin tuna toro, which will be its first commercial product.
In a survey of 2,000 frequent sushi eaters conducted last year, some 92% of respondents expressed interest in trying the product. The top perceived benefits included its potential absence of parasites, pesticides, microplastics, mercury, and antibiotics, followed by high omega-3 content.
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Additionally, some 74% expressed willingness to pay the same or more compared to conventional bluefin tuna, due to its potential benefits.
“Our cell-cultivated bluefin toro offers a new, high-quality seafood experience, nutrient-rich, free from environmental contaminants, and designed to complement a global supply chain that is increasingly fragile and unpredictable,” said Lou Cooperhouse, founder, president and CEO of BlueNalu.
“We are proud to work with trusted partners and forward-thinking regulatory agencies to deliver safe, consistent, and desirable seafood to consumers in the coming years. Our acceptance into the UK regulatory sandbox reinforces BlueNalu’s position as a global company at the forefront of food system innovation.”
The expansion of BlueNalu’s partnership with Nomad “further exemplifies the ongoing momentum in the cultivated food sector across the globe”, said Jim Mellon, executive chair of Agronomics.
“This research also confirms what we have known for some time: that there is a strong demand from consumers, who want food options which are not only more sustainable, but which are healthier and better for themselves and the planet. We are looking forward to BlueNalu making waves in the UK, as its partnership with Nomad Foods will drive forward innovation in the clean food industry.”
Agronomics is also a key investor in British cultivated meat supplier Meatly, which unveiled the world’s first commercially available lab-grown dog treats in February.
It comes as rival cultivated meat business Meatable today announced a strategic collaboration with TruMeat, which specialises in the contract manufacturing of cultivated meat at commercial scale.
The partnership, “to advance the global commercialisation of cultivated meat”, will see the pair work together to “optimise processes and media development and build a state-of-the-art facility operated by TruMeat in Singapore using Meatable’s technology”.
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