NEWS IN BRIEF

Plant-based seafood brand Good Catch raises over $32m in Series B financing round

15-Jan-2020 - Last updated on 15-Jan-2020 at 17:48 GMT

Gathered Foods, parent company to plant-based seafood brand Good Catch, has closed a series B funding round led by several industry players including Greenleaf Foods and 301 INC, the venture arm of General Mills.

Stray Dog Capital, Rocana Ventures, Almanac Investments, CPT Capital, and New Crop Capital also participated in the funding round with net proceeds from the investment totaling over $32m. The funds will be used for significant expansion in distribution across North America, Europe, and into Asia, and for the opening of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, as well as new product and food service channel launches in early 2020.

"The goal is to make Good Catch accessible and available for everyone," said the company.

Valued at $4.5bn, the US plant-based foods retail market grew five times faster than the total US retail food sales over the past year, according to SPINS data provided by The Good Food Institute. Good Catch products are now available in over 4,500 retail outlets across the US and will be launching in the UK in the coming weeks.

Good Catch fish-free products are made from a blend of six non-GMO plant proteins including chickpea, fava, soy, lentil, pea, and navy bean, with pea being its main source of protein. The company uses seaweed and algae extracts, compounds that fish naturally consume in the sea, to mimic the fishy, umami taste of seafood, and also provide the formulation with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids.

"On the heels of widespread adoption of plant-based meat and increasing consumer concern about the environmental impacts of food production, the market is ripe for Good Catch's next-generation plant-based seafood," commented Caroline Bushnell, associate director of corporate engagement at The Good Food Institute.

"Plant-based seafood provides a host of environmental benefits, including alleviating pressures on rapidly depleting fisheries, providing relief to fragile ocean ecosystems, reducing the impact of fishing nets on the ocean plastic problem, and reducing production-related GHG emissions."

According to the United Nations, nearly 90% of the world's marine fish stocks are now fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted, with fisheries subsidies playing an integral part.

"Keeping startling statistics such as this in mind, Good Catch believes that the only truly sustainable seafood is one that allows fish to remain in the ocean, undisturbed," the company said.