German startup plans to bring cultivated seafood to your dinner table

Cultivated seafood has edged closer to our plates after a German startup bagged fresh cash to bring the produce to market.

The Berlin-based Bluu Seafood this week announced it’s raised €16m in Series A funding. The company now plans to focus on gaining regulatory approval for its lab-grown cuisine, which is grown from fish cells.

According to Bluu, the process protects oceans, prevents harming animals, and ensures quality.

The startup says it’s also more energy efficient and robust than cultivated meat, as fish cells can be grown at room temperature and are more tolerant of life in bioreactors.

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Bluu now aims to bring its fish balls and fish fingers from the lab to the table.

Bluu plans to make its market entry in Singapore, where the sale of cultivated chicken has been permitted since 2020. Bluu expects its seafood to get approval by 2024.

Another country on the roadmap is the USA, where sales of lab-grown meat were rubberstamped last week. Bluu has already initiated the approval process with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The new funding brings the plan nearer to fruition. In total, Blu has now raised €23m since it was founded three years ago.

“Our vision is becoming reality,” said Simon Fabich, the company’s co-founder. “More and more, forward-looking investors have come to realize this, and the flow of capital will increase massively. BLUU Seafood, too, will continue to raise funds and help lead this revolution as a European player.”