Supermarket Perimeter - March 2023 - 22

When plant-based products came to market, there was
a belief that they were all very healthy, but consumers
are now doing more due diligence with label reading and
ingredient reading, Demeritt said.
She said that there is an Achilles heel right now around
plant-based protein as consumers are becoming aware
of how many of these products are overly processed,
and consumers are now questioning whether plantbased
really is more helpful/healthful and if it does
provide value.
However, this does not mean that the plant-based
seafood trend has been completely lost at sea.
Knowing that consumers are educating themselves
on the topic, suppliers and retailers have an opportunity
to reassess the value of plant-based protein - such
as ethics-related benefits - and communicate it to
consumers effectively.
This can also spark innovation and push the food
industry to try new ways to create healthier plant-based
products.
One company that is doing just that is The ISH
Company, based in Rockland, Del.
The certified B-Corp, plant-based food company
was founded in 2020 and launched its first product,
Shrimpish, in 2022. It is currently being sold to select
foodservice and retail customers in North America.
ISH also has more than 25 other plant-based products
in development including Salmonish, Codish, Crabish
and Lobsterish, which taste, feel and cook just like the
seafood alternative, according to the company.
As of Jan. 24, ISH raised more than $5 million in its
seed round for growth and development, bringing its
total funds raised to almost $10 million. The funding
round was led by ACCELR8 with participation form Stray
Dog Capital.
" The funds will primarily be used to propel The ISH
Company and plant-based seafood into the flourishing
plant-based foods market, help the company continue to
create more innovative products, and lay the groundwork
for future partnerships, " the company said. " ISH uses
its 'whole system approach' to fill the market gap by
developing sustainable, healthy, and delicious plantbased
versions of consumers' favorite seafoods. "
According to ISH, shrimp is the most popular seafood
item in the U.S., but it also causes four times more
greenhouse gas emissions than beef.
While communicating the ethics-related benefits of
Shrimpish to consumers, ISH is focused on health-related
benefits as well. Shrimpish advertises its use of healthy,
natural ingredients like coconut and algae to create the
seafood texture and taste.
" The plant-based market has seen incredible growth
over the past couple of years, but there is a massive lack
of seafood substitutes, " said Bernard David, CEO and
founder of The ISH Company.
" The opportunity to support a company that's making
significant strides in providing a more environmentally
friendly way to eat seafood was a huge draw for our
team, " said Justin Kern, partner at ACCELR8. " We believe
the ISH team is uniquely positioned to make a splash
in the plant-based seafood market, without sacrificing
health and environmental concerns. "
" ISH is helping people gain access to healthy,
sustainable, and delicious plant-based seafood, a market
in which we see tremendous opportunity, " said Lisa
Feria, CEO at Stray Dog Capital. " The plant-based seafood
category has the potential to make up over $500 million
in sales and we're excited to include ISH in our portfolio
as this figure continues to grow. "
Whole-cut seafood alternatives
Another startup that's working to create healthier plantbased
protein is Toronto-based New School Foods.
The company was founded in 2020, and last month,
it raised $12 million in seed funding and publicly
announced its proprietary, scalable technologies for
producing whole-cut plant-based seafood.
Chris Bryson, the CEO and founder of New School
Foods, spent the last three years investing in academic
R&D projects with food science universities around the
world to develop the company's platform.
According to New School Foods, its unique additions
to the plant-based protein industry are the following:
* Muscle fibers, made from plants: Replicates the
diameter, length, strength and structure of fish muscle
fibers to deliver the same texture & mouthfeel.
* Whole-cut Scaffolding:
Filets that combines
directionally aligned
muscle fibers with plantbased
connective tissue,
fats, colors, and flavors.
* Raw-to-Cooked:
Unlike nearly all other
products in the market
that are pre-cooked by
production, New School
Foods' cold-based
22 - MARCH 2023
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The ISH Company, Kvarøy Arctic
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Supermarket Perimeter - March 2023

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