Mycorena, Revo Foods to shake up food industry with 3D-printed salmon

Gothenburg-based startup Mycorena has partnered with Austrian firm Revo Foods to launch a 3D-printed whole-cut salmon fillet in Billa Pflanzilla, a vegan flagship shop of REWE Group, in Vienna.

The Swedish startup announced its partnership with Revo in January. The collaborative programme, entitled “The Filet – Inspired by Salmon,” received a €1.5 million grant from Sweden’s innovation agency Vinnova, EU funding initiative Eurostars and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency.

Mycorena’s Promyc protein base is used as the foundation of this fish substitute. The 3D-printed salmon product has a similar texture to the conventional counterpart, thanks to Revo’s new extrusion technology.

Revo explains that its technology enables the “seamless integration” of fats into the protein fibres. Additionally, the extrusion method allows the mass production of the salmon substitute.

“With the milestone of industrial-scale 3D food printing, we are entering a creative food revolution, an era where food is being crafted exactly according to the customer needs,” said Revo CEO Robin Simsa.

While Revo currently focuses on seafood alternatives, Simsa asserted that the technology applies to other meat replacement products.

Mycorena and Revo’s salmon is fortified with nutrients such as vitamins B6 and E. While the 3D-printed salmon contains only nine grams of protein per 100-gram serving, approximately half the amount of the real fish, the product has lower saturated fats than the conventional version.

Budding market

The global mycoprotein market is expected to hit $976 million (€915.6 million) by 2032, with solid growth in market demand in the coming years. Within the market, the alternative seafood sector is seeing significant growth, with a 40 percent year-on-year increase in pound sales last year.

Analysts link the increasing interest in alt-seafood products to issues plaguing the seafood sector, namely climate change and human rights violations. Rising demand for seafood leads to overfishing and higher greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, there have been reports of abuses endured by crews on fishing vessels.

Maarten Geraets, alt-protein managing director of Thai Union, said alt-seafood is the less-known category in the alternative animal products. However, Geraets insisted that seafood is “bound to catch up” with other alt-meat products soon as sustainability becomes a bigger concern for consumers.