Cellular and plant-based seafood producer Finless Foods' new poke-style tuna is now available in the US foodservice market through Gordon Food Service, one of North America's largest broadline distributors.
Finless Foods is touting its plant-based tuna is minimally processed, low in sodium and fat, and containing omega-3 fatty acids -- countering one of the key arguments made by the seafood industry against plant-based products.
California-based Finless is developing both cell-cultured and plant-based seafood alternatives.
Finless Foods CEO Michael Selden said the money will be used to construct a pilot facility where the company will produce its first scalable, commercial cell-cultured bluefin tuna. The facility is due to open in San Francisco sometime this year.
The new funding brings the total raised by the company to nearly $48 million (€44 million) since 2017.
The California-based company said it is also using the funds to gain regulatory approval for its cell-cultured bluefin tuna, enabling it to be sold and consumed in the United States.
Investments in alternative seafood products nearly doubled in 2021 over levels the year before, according to a new report from the nonprofit group Good Food Institute (GFI).
A total of $175 million (€162 million) was invested in companies producing or planning to produce seafood made from plant material, grown from cells or produced using a fermentation process. The investment reflects a 92 percent increase from the $91 million (€84.3 million) invested in the sector in 2020.
