A food-tech startup located on Vancouver Island recently secured seed financing.
Save da Sea launched from Victoria in 2019 to replicate seafood products with plant-based alternatives and is seeing success in 2024.
The B.C. firm last month closed $650,000 in capital, a report from BetaKit reveals, bringing the food-tech’s total raised to $1.6M.
The latest investment into Save Da Sea was led by BDC’s Thrive Lab, with participation from Spring, What If Ventures, and YSpace.
Save da Sea is innovating plant-based seafood by developing sustainable alternatives “made from wholesome ingredients” that “convincingly mimics the taste and texture” of popular ocean dishes.
With the new funding, founder Aki Kaltenbach intends to bolster her team with new hires as well as begin an expansion into the U.S. market, according to BK’s report.
Kaltenbach—winner in the Entrepreneurial leader category of BCBusiness‘ 2024 Women of the Year Awards—is uniquely positioned at the intersection of food and technology, boasting a career that includes both running Japanese restaurants and working at Vancouver’s Hootsuite.
The CEO informed BK her startup grew by more than 60% year-over-year in terms of distribution of product, which includes a faux smoked salmon crafted from a carrot-based blend of other vegetables and ingredients.
With debate over the environmental sustainability of the marine fishing industry ongoing, the plant-based seafood market is expected to continue to grow moving forward.
However, alternatives are not yet perfect. While tastes and textures closely replicate those of real meat, the macronutrients still remain lacking in comparison.
For example, 100 grams of real salmon contains roughly 20 grams of protein and no carbs—a highly protein-dense meal with no wasted calories. Save da Sea’s alternative salmon, meanwhile, contains less than one gram of protein for the same portion, and includes carbs (mostly from sugars).
Successfully mimicking meat-like macronutrients (on top of taste and texture) remains the missing key in food-tech. And while she has not stated it as a goal, Kaltenbach appears as equipped as anyone to figure out the magic formula.
Stockists in B.C. for Save da Sea products include Save-on-Foods and Nature’s Fare. More than 500 locations nationwide sell the Victoria company’s meat alternatives.
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