Chicago-based startup Aqua Cultured Foods has closed its operations after a five-year endeavor to develop fermented seafood alternatives through biomass fermentation. Co-founded in 2020 by Brittany Chibe and Anne Shaeffer, Aqua focused on producing high-fidelity seafood analogs using a proprietary fermentation process that converted cellulose. Despite raising $10 million, filing 19 patents, and gaining interest from chefs, retailers, and global suppliers, the company ultimately ceased operations last month.

Aqua's clean-label positioning and low capital expenditure production process set it apart in the market, but market readiness for meat alternatives remained a challenge. Former CEO Anne Shaeffer, who left the company two years prior, acknowledged the company's advancements but emphasized the importance of timing and consumer readiness in the alternative protein sector. Shaeffer now leads Akarso Bio and highlighted that future companies in the sector will build on the foundations laid by early pioneers like Aqua Cultured Foods.