Oshi raises $3M from Latin America's largest seafood firm for plant-based salmon
What's the deal? Oshi, a US-based plant-based seafood startup, has secured $3M in funding from Cooke Aquaculture's Latin American subsidiary — making it one of the first times a major traditional seafood producer has backed a plant-based alternative in the category. Cooke Aquaculture is Latin America's largest seafood manufacturer, and the investment signals a notable shift in how legacy protein companies view the alternative seafood space.
Why now? The plant-based seafood category has lagged behind plant-based meat and dairy in both investment and consumer adoption. But growing concerns about ocean sustainability, overfishing, and supply chain vulnerabilities are pushing traditional seafood companies to hedge their bets. Oshi's plant-based salmon product offers a way for incumbents like Cooke to diversify without cannibalising their core business — positioning them for a market that may grow as consumer preferences shift.
For Cooke, the timing also reflects a strategic calculation: getting in early on a category before it matures, rather than playing catch-up later.
What could go wrong? Plant-based seafood faces steep hurdles. Consumer awareness remains low compared to plant-based burgers or milks, and replicating the taste and texture of fish — especially raw preparations like salmon — is technically difficult. The broader plant-based sector has also faced a demand slowdown, with several high-profile companies reporting flat or declining sales.
There's also the question of whether a $3M investment is enough to meaningfully scale production and distribution in a competitive food market.
The signal: Cooke Aquaculture's corporate investment in Oshi — a breakout-stage startup focused on whole-cut salmon fillets for foodservice — illustrates a growing pattern of incumbent protein producers hedging through strategic bets on alternatives. That a traditional salmon producer is directly backing a plant-based salmon company suggests the industry views the category less as a threat and more as a complementary growth channel worth shaping from the inside.
Read more: planetfood.news
