Launch of Sustainable Plant-Based Atlantic Cod Fillet by Icelandic Startup

 Launch of Sustainable Plant-Based Atlantic Cod Fillet by Icelandic Startup. To create a line of realistic and nutrient-dense substitute seafood products, including a whole-cut, plant-based white fish fillet substitute, Icelandic firm Loki Foods has raised pre-seed $650,000. According to the company, their sustainable alternative to Atlantic cod is more nutrient-dense than traditional fish meat and cooks identically. The product may also aid Iceland in reducing its reliance on the indigenous fishing industry.

Launch of Sustainable Plant-Based Atlantic Cod Fillet by Icelandic Startup 

For the investment round, Sustainable Food Ventures, MGMT Ventures, VegInvest, FoodHack, Kale United, and Lifely VC have all indicated that they will be investing in Loki. With the money, the company will be able to entice customers away from traditional fish consumption by making operational changes.

As the first investor in Loki Foods, we spotted a unique opportunity to develop a new narrative for the future of seafood at the very core of fish's global capital — Iceland, stated Mariliis Holm, investor at Sustainable Food Ventures of their choice to support the nascent company. Using only renewable energy and beautiful Icelandic water, Loki Foods' personnel, technology, and location enable them to manufacture fish that is a sustainable alternative protein.

Introducing Iceland's first believable cod equivalent

The firm has so far provided few details, besides some fantastic product images. As the first alternative fish provider in Iceland, Loki claims that their plant-based product will outperform traditional cod nutritionally.

According to Chris McClure, CEO and co-founder of Loki Foods, Loki Foods' aim is to mature the alternative seafood market in flavour, cookability, texture, and nutrition to draw consumers away from traditional seafood and hasten the removal of marine life from the supply chain.

The absence of toxins, microplastics, and heavy metals that are frequently detected in caught seafood is brought to light. The prototype fillet serves as the basis for the final product, which will be protein- and vitamin-rich and contain polyunsaturated fatty acids. According to the manufacturer, it can be prepared and cooked using the same methods as traditional fish.

The sustainable alternative to commercial fishing

Fishing and aquaculture, according to Loki, are two aspects of the same issue: unsustainable food production. Moving away from marine animal protein is crucial because more than 50% of the world's fish stocks are currently regarded as overfished and 10% are perilously close to collapse. The ongoing rise in demand for seafood is a barrier to allowing fish populations to restock.

Loki rejects the idea that aquaculture is a workable answer. The startup is clear about how it disagrees with the industry's repercussions of biodiversity loss, garbage disposal, and pesticide use. To make its case, it emphasises the fact that a two-acre salmon farm generates as much garbage as 10,000 people.

Depending on the production methods used, plant-based seafood may prove to be a far more environmentally friendly choice.

Holm asserts that tastier cuisine that also protects our oceans and their species is the future of seafood. The Loki Fillet, a plant-based cod, outperforms traditional white fish in terms of nutrition, flavour, and cookability while also being environmentally friendly.

The rise of vegan seafood that looks incredibly lifelike

The market for seafood substitutes made from plants that are so convincing that buyers examine the label is expanding dramatically. When Plantish presented their identical vegan salmon fillet in January, it set the ball in motion. Future customers and investors were interested in the Israeli startup's whole-cut fillets that were 3D printed using beans and algae. Plantish received $12.45 million in seed funding two months after publishing pictures of its development.

UK-based Jack & Bry is also attempting to imitate the texture and flavour of white fish fillets. The Cornish Seaweed Company and the alternative protein firm have teamed up to enhance the flavour and nutritional value of jackfruit, the product's main ingredient. The end result, according to the company, is a lifelike fish fillet that doesn't require battering, which may be a first for the alternative seafood industry.

Sea & Believe, a group of cod lovers, are working to develop a plant-based substitute for the endangered fish. It's an Irish firm that makes its fishless fillets using locally sourced seaweed. A prototype was shown to aid ongoing fundraising efforts for the cod counterpart, which is still under development.