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Blue Horizon Backs Ocean Hugger Foods, Maker of Plant-based Tuna

In September 2017, blue horizon invested in Ocean Hugger Foods. The company, which has been working on a meat-free tuna, is a pioneer in the plant-based fish industry. This investment will help support the development of more plant-based products to offer to restaurants, retailers and consumers.

Ocean Hugger Foods offers sustainable, healthy, plant-based alternatives to popular seafood, starting with raw tuna. In the future the company plans to develop alternatives to eel, salmon and other high-demand seafood proteins.

This raw tuna alternative has been dubbed ahimi, meant for use in any number of raw tuna based dishes such as sashimi, nigiri, tartare, and ceviche. This distinct recipe has been developed by one of America’s top chefs, Certified Master chef James Corwell. The first product developed by the company, ahimi is tomato-based, and the flavor transformed through a special technique. This ahimi was specifically designed to be a direct alternative to raw tuna, emulating the savory, meaty taste without the negative environmental impacts of overfishing.

Certified Master Chef James Corwell is the founder of Ocean Hugger Foods. A native of Atlanta, he has previously worked as a chef in Napa Valley, the Culinary Institute of America at St. Helena, and Le Foret in New Orleans. He started Ocean Hugger Foods after witnessing the incredibly high volume of tuna being sold in Japan on a daily basis. This volume was clearly unsustainable, and it motivated him to develop an alternative.

James Corwell, Certified Master Chef and founder of Ocean Hugger Foods, says: “Ocean Hugger Foods is dedicated to making delicious and sustainable alternatives to the world’s most vulnerable ocean populations. We’re so honored to have the support of Blue Horizon, a firm that has shown a true passion for innovation and sustainability.”

Roger Lienhard, founder and CEO of blue horizon, adds: “Here at blue horizon we act as part of the movement for a sustainable, plant-based diet. Ocean Hugger Foods, with its innovative approach to plant-based raw fish, is at the forefront of this movement. We look forward to supporting the expansion of their product line as we work towards a plant-based future.”

About blue horizon

blue horizon was founded in 2015 with the vision that profit-oriented strategies and the common good can be united. blue horizon is a global, mission-driven private sector investment firm focused on scalable ventures that accelerate the global transition towards sustainable food and agriculture. In 2016, the blue horizon Foundation was started to support the transformation of farms from animal factories to sustainable plant production facilities.

About Ocean Hugger Foods

Founded in year by a certified gourmet chef, Ocean Hugger Foods is seeking to promote sustainable and delectable alternatives to seafood. Starting with a plant-based raw “tuna”, Ocean Hugger Foods hopes to develop a whole line of plant-based seafood available to the masses.