blue horizon, a global impact investment firm, has invested in the plant-based food company New Wave Foods. This investment will help further blue horizon’s mission to make more plant-based alternatives available for consumers, and support New Wave Foods’ development of cruelty-free, eco-friendly seafood.
New Wave Foods was founded to preserve and enrich seafood traditions while reducing the environmental and human rights problems that come with commercial fishing. It all started with the development of an algae- and plant-based alternative to shrimp, the most-consumed seafood on the planet and the harvest of which is the most environmentally damaging.
Using natural ingredients and cutting-edge science, New Wave Foods has successfully developed this shrimp. As a result, consumers will have access to shrimp without slavery, bycatch, and environmental devastation. At this time, New Wave Foods’ shrimp is available for food-service operators such as universities, resorts, and food trucks. The shrimp will be available to consumers in California and Nevada in 2018. New Wave Foods also plans to expand to select markets nationwide next year.
New Wave Foods won’t stop with shrimp, however: it already has plans to develop plant-based alternatives to lobster, crab, salmon, and other popular seafood. As these cruelty-free and eco-friendly alternatives become more available, New Wave Foods hopes to reduce the environmental devastation caused by commercial fishing and save our seas.
New Wave Foods was founded by Dominique Barnes and Michelle Wolf, who both come from STEM backgrounds and harbor a passion for marine conservation. With this investment, Blue Horizon is proud to be also supporting women-owned and run businesses such as New Wave Foods.
Dominique Barnes holds a Master’s in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institute of Oceanography and experienced the devastating impacts of commercial fishing on the ocean firsthand. This experience helped inspire her to develop sustainable seafood alternatives.
Michelle Wolf is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University with an MS in Biomedical Engineering and a BS in Materials Science. She had worked in the research and innovation department at L’Oreal before moving to the Bay Area and teaming up with Dominique to co-found New Wave Foods.
Dominique Barnes, Co-Founder and CEO of New Wave Foods, comments: “We are very excited to have blue horizon on board. New Wave Foods and blue horizon share the same vision of providing healthy, clean and sustainable food to people worldwide. Together we are changing the way the world enjoys seafood.”
Roger Lienhard, founder of blue horizon, adds: “We couldn’t be happier to add New Wave Foods to our portfolio of investments. The impact of commercial fishing on both people and the planet is an often-overlooked issue and we’re glad that startups like New Wave Foods are coming up with solutions. We look forward to supporting their development of truly sustainable seafood.”
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 accelerates 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 New Wave Foods
New Wave Foods was founded in 2015 by Michelle Wolf (MS in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University) and Dominique Barnes (MS in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institute of Oceanography). New Wave Foods is developing and perfecting the world’s only algae- and plant-based shrimp and is researching on further development (lobster, crab, salmon, and other seafood) by using natural ingredients and cutting-edge science. The result: seafood without slavery, bycatch, shellfish allergens, antibiotics, and ecosystem devastation – seafood that everybody can love.