With issues that range from slave labor to ecosystem devastation, the shrimping industry was prime for disruption—and Barnes aimed to take out the shrimp entirely. New Wave Foods focused on using red algae (a key part of a shrimp’s diet) and dedicated itself to perfecting a taste and texture that could pass for the real thing. In the two years since starting up, New Wave Foods has begun commercially manufacturing their shrimp, producing about 3,000 pounds of product every month and providing it to food service operators across California and Nevada.
The shrimp has since found high-profile customers around New Wave’s Bay Area headquarters; it’s served in Google’s cafeterias and continues to pique the interest of chefs from fine restaurants and resorts, all the way to food trucks. “If we can get chefs to promote these much more sustainable alternatives like shrimp made from plants and algae, that can easily trickle down into our broader food systems,” Barnes says.
Effecting such a sea change in seafood does not come easily, however. Aside from developing the product and the crash course in food science and entrepreneurship, Barnes’ biggest challenge now is a demand for the product that’s higher than her company’s capacity to produce. A good problem for any startup company, Barnes thinks, and one she’s excited to tackle. “I don’t exactly get up in the morning excited to grind through price points and balance sheets,” she says. “But what really excites me is the potential impact that we’re going to have. That’s what’s always driven me: impact.”
There’s lots in store for the future of New Wave Foods, starting with nationwide distribution of the shrimp and availability to consumers in grocery stores. Eventually, Barnes hopes to expand New Wave’s product offering with other plant- and algae-based seafood alternatives, producing other shellfish as well as fin fish like tuna and salmon. “I always joke that my dream is to go back to Las Vegas someday and see an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet made entirely from New Wave Foods,” Barnes says. “It seems a little out there, but it’s entirely possible.”
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of UC San Diego's Triton magazine.
修改评论