PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 7, 2019 — Wholechain was among six companies from four countries to receive Top Innovator awards yesterday at the close of Fish 2.0’s 2019 Global Innovators Forum at Stanford’s Center for Ocean Solutions. These industry standouts are bringing new aquaculture technologies and products to market, increasing transparency and modernizing the seafood supply chain.

A packed house of over 200 investors, entrepreneurs, and ocean and seafood experts chose the winners by voting on presentations from the Fish 2.0 Forty — the most highly ranked businesses from a pool of 150 entries reviewed throughout the 2018–19 Fish 2.0 cycle. Getting into that select group was tough: most companies that made the cut are operational and growing fast.

The Fish 2.0 Top Innovators by category are:

• Global Seafood: Fortuna, a Philippines-based company whose Fortuna Cooler is the first fish transport box made of natural, locally sourced materials. The durable cooler replaces polystyrene containers.

• U.S. Seafood: Montana Microbial Products, which produces high-quality barley protein concentrates for fish feed, a new fish-free alternative to traditional feeds.

• Australian Seafood: Australian Crayfish Hatchery, whose state-of-the-art facility supplies antibiotics-free, pathogen-free hatchlings to farmers of the lobster-like crayfish in Australia and internationally.

• Aquaculture: Aquaai, whose Fish as a Service platform is based on a robotic fish outfitted with cameras and sensors that monitor conditions in offshore fish farms.

• Ocean and Seafood Technology: Yorso, an online B2B wholesale seafood marketplace that operates internationally and integrates with buyers’ and sellers’ CRM systems.

• Supply Chain Change: Wholechain, a user-friendly, blockchain-based traceability solution that provides transparency throughout the seafood supply chain.

Our partner Northline Seafoods was a Fish 2.0 winner in 2017 and we constantly use that as a validator when introducing them to our other partners. We are thrilled to now be among the Fish 2.0 alums. Being part of this community of innovators — and those investing in and facilitating further innovation — is so helpful.

Blockchain is a buzzword at the moment that brings understandably high levels of skepticism, so going through the rigor of the Fish2.0 process and having positive feedback from this community of experts is helpful in validating the value of Wholechain as a tool for this industry. We work in other food and agriculture supply chains as well, but the challenges of seafood are the ultimate Frank Sinatra test: if you can make it here you can make it anywhere.

Fish 2.0’s 18-month 2018–19 cycle included regional workshops for seafood businesses as well as the online Readiness Assessment that qualified applicants for the Fish 2.0 Forty. Participating businesses received feedback from investors, business and impact advisors, and peers that helped them develop their strategies, integrate positive impacts and metrics, and position their enterprise for investment. At least five investor judges scored each competitor to reach the finals.

“I’ve seen more high-quality companies and presentations at this year’s Fish 2.0 Forum than at any previous one,” said Mitchell Presser of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Presser, an investor who has participated in every cycle of Fish 2.0 and invested in several companies, including 2017 Fish 2.0 award winner NovoNutrients, added, “You get to understand the dynamics of the market here and you see a lot of opportunities, so you can evaluate the best and move forward.”

Fish 2.0 network accelerates sustainable seafood innovation

This is the fourth and final biennial Global Innovators Forum. Since its start in 2013, Fish 2.0 has worked with 588 entrepreneurs from more than 40 countries, built a network of over 700 investors, produced 27 investor briefings on topics ranging from algae products and aquaculture technology to traceability and tuna, and inspired 388 investors and experts to volunteer as advisors or judges to help sustainable seafood entrepreneurs develop their businesses.

“When we launched Fish 2.0, few people saw seafood as an exciting sector for sustainable business innovation,” said Fish 2.0 founder and executive director Monica Jain. “And we believed progress would accelerate if we could help investors and entrepreneurs build the knowledge and connections they needed to get promising ideas off the ground and move capital into the sector.

“That proved true, and as the 2019 Fish 2.0 winners demonstrate, innovation in the sector continues to grow,” she added. “We thank everyone who has supported us over the years in filling the gaps, and we are grateful to the increasing number of innovators and investors who are making our oceans and plates healthier.”

About Fish 2.0

Fish 2.0 brought innovators together to grow the sustainable seafood sector. Working through our worldwide network, regional events, online Readiness Assessment, Fish 2.0 Connect online hub, and Global Innovators Forum, Fish 2.0 participants collaborated to drive innovation, business growth, and positive impact. Everyone benefited: Entrepreneurs met potential investors, partners, and advisors that helped them accelerate impact and growth. Investors and experts got early access to investment opportunities and learned about emerging technologies and trends.