Umami Bioworks, a leader in cultivated seafood technology based in Singapore, has teamed up with South Korean biotech firm K-Cell Biosciences and bioprocess solutions provider WSG to develop a sustainable production pipeline for cultivated seafood in South Korea. The partnership, formalized by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in September, aims to create scalable production systems for seafood grown from cells, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional fishing.
With one of the highest per capita seafood consumption rates in the world, South Korea presents a major market opportunity for Umami Bioworks' ethical and eco-friendly seafood products. Umami Bioworks will provide its expertise in cultivated seafood technology, while K-Cell Biosciences will contribute advanced cell culture media, and WSG will supply the necessary bioprocessing hardware. Together, these companies aim to streamline production, making it cost-effective and scalable to meet local demand.
“A critical part of Umami's ambition to establish a scalable plug-and-play production solution for cultivated seafood is securing partnerships with key strategic suppliers who are capable of supplying critical hardware and inputs at prices and volumes that match our customers' requirements,” said Umami Bioworks CEO Mihir Pershad. “With WSG and K-Cell's history of delivering high quality bioprocess equipment and culture media, we will work closely together to optimize our production solution and to bring the first cultivated food production facility to South Korea.”
The partnership will also focus on gaining regulatory approval from South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), ensuring that cultivated seafood products meet local safety and quality standards. Plans are underway to co-invest in a facility that will serve as a production hub for cultivated seafood, starting with eel.
Cultivated fish in cat food
In July, Umami Bioworks partnered with Friends & Family Pet Food (FnF) to co-develop and launch what they said were the world's first cat treats made from cultivated fish.
FnF’s new product line of cat treats are designed with high-value microalgae, a blend of high-quality cultured proteins and essential nutrients. FnF said the new cultivated fish treats offer significant environmental benefits by reducing reliance on traditional fishing methods, which often lead to overfishing and ocean depletion. Cultivated fish production is designed to be more resource-efficient, requiring less land, water, and feed compared to conventional aquaculture.
The cat treats are planned to launch in the Singapore and San Francisco markets in early 2025.
Adapted from a press release.
