Stray Dog Capital has added Aqua Cultured Foods to its portfolio, leading the startup’s $5.5 million seed round. The startup is the latest innovative company to join Stray Dog Capital’s portfolio of leading alternative protein brands.
Aqua Cultured Foods is creating whole-muscle cut seafood alternatives, including calamari, shrimp, scallops and filets of tuna and whitefish. The company also produces minced “seafood” fillings for applications like dumplings, ravioli and sushi rolls.
Utilizing a proprietary fermentation process, Aqua Cultured Foods’ products have a texture and structure differentiated from other seafood alternatives on the market. Further, by leveraging existing processes, the startup has a clear path to market, free from regulatory hurdles.
“Aqua created novel processes and methods of production based on technologies and products that have existed for thousands of years, so we don’t have the same regulatory hurdles as other types of technologies have,” CEO Anne Palermo said. “They are already generally recognized as safe by the FDA. It’s part of the reason that we’re able to have such an accelerated market and be able to have so many really fantastic tastings.”
This funding round will enable the company to begin manufacturing its first products in the coming months, as well as being used to hire additional employees and expand its roster of restaurant and foodservice outlets for product introductions this year.
Aqua Cultured Foods recently acquired a 5,000-square-foot food-grade facility in Chicago for its pilot facility, and the startup expects a rapid pathway forward to commercial scale.
Thinking forward to future expansion, the startup will be leveraging decentralized manufacturing to keep costs low and enable a broader distribution.
“When we eventually do move into new markets, for example, Asia, we’re going to be able to have a facility in Asia and we won’t have to ship products from the U.S. That’s a big area where we differentiate as well as just the inherent scalability of our products,” Palermo said.
Aqua’s new investment was led by Stray Dog Capital and included H Ventures, Aztec Capital Management and Amplifica Capital, which joined existing investors Supply Change Capital, Big Idea Ventures, Hyde Park Angels, Aera VC, Kingfisher Capital and Swiss Pampa. The round also included a strategic investment from Asian food manufacturer and distributor CJ CheilJedang.