New Wave Foods

New Wave Foods is a biotechnology company developing plant based alternative seafood products. The company is based out of San Francisco, California and was founded in 2015 by Dominique Barnes and Michelle Wolf.

New Wave Foods sells a plant-based shrimp alternative made from sustainable ingredients like algae and plant proteins. Conventional seafood-substitute products fail to replicate the texture and flavor of shrimp. Since shrimp get part of their color and flavor from the algae they eat, the company combined algae with other plant proteins, sugar, salt and other flavorings to create a product that mimics the taste, texture and color. The nutritional value of New Wave Foods shrimp may be better then conventional because they are not farmed with hormones and they have no cholesterol. The shrimp shape is achieved by placing the edible composition into molds.

New Wave Foods uses hydrocolloid materials for gelling and thickening. Hydrocolloids are long chain polymers of polysaccharides and proteins that are used in many food formulations for thickening and gelling. One hydrocolloid used by New Wave Foods, sodium alginate is extracted from the cell walls of brown algae and is used in artificial caviar. The composition also includes red algae and soy protein. Other plant protein sources are being tested. They are also working with lycopene, paprika and beta-caroten for adding color.

New Wave Foods Shrimp can be used with culinary techniques normally used for cooking and preparing shrimp. Their shrimp do not change color when you cook them, like regular shrimp, but they are working on incorporating that technology into their shrimp. These plant-based shrimp are vegan, kosher and suitable for people with allergies to shellfish. New Wave Foods Shrimp also provide an alternative for consumers concerned about environmental impacts and working conditions in the shrimp farming industry. Dishes that feature New Wave Foods shrimp are available at Montery Bay Aquarium, Orchard Grocer, New York, Calafia Cafe, Palo Alto, California and by food delivery from Veestro.

In September 2015, New Wave Foods were accepted to San Francisco accelerator, IndiBio . After completing Indie Bio's accelerator program New Wave Foods received $250,000 in funding from SOSV.

On July 21, 2016 new Wave Foods completed their seed funding round with an undisclosed amount of funding from Efficient Capacity and New Crop Capital . The CEO of New Wave Foods, Dominique Barnes, made the following comment regarding the companies seed funding:

New Crop Capital supports a lot of ‘future of food’ companies, while Efficient Capacity has a strong passion for marine conservation. We have a shared mission alignment—they are looking for companies that can impact a billion people and change the food system for the better.

On September 5, 2019 New Wave Foods received an undisclosed amount of funding from Tyson Foods. The company plans on using the funding to help launch their plant-based shrimp substitute on early 2020. The CFO of Tyson Ventures, Tom Mastrobuoni, made the following comment to reporters regarding Tyson Foods providing financial support for New Wave Foods:

What we saw was an opportunity to be a sector leader with a product that performs better than anything else that we saw coming down the line.

Algae or plant based edible compositions, application US20180084815A1 (2018-03-29), pending US15716272 (2017-09-26), PCT/US2017/053483 (2017-09-26), WO2018058119A1 (2018-03-29).