Descripción

Oceano Fresco's mission is to contribute to more sustainable food production, by producing high-quality bivalve species through science-driven aquaculture in a pioneer project in Europe. Since January 2020, the date of its first campaign through GoParity, the company has raised 1,3 million euros from the GoParity investor community. With a total of 630,000 euros already raised in 2021 alone.

The amount raised in the first campaigns Oceano Fresco I, II, III, IV, V, and VI has been used to buy equipment to install the first clam off-shore farm in the world, in Algarve. The clams are placed in open sea ponds where they can grow in their natural environment, in a sustainable way.

In the latest campaigns, Oceano Fresco Innovation I and II the company raised 350.000€ to co-finance two research and development (R&D) projects focused on the cultivation of clams. These projects in the areas of genetics and pathology, which will be developed in the hatchery and in the nursery, are highly innovative worldwide. The promotors pioneer project has already provided the company with two incentives totaling 1,4 million euros.

Oceano Fresco will use the funding from this campaign (150.000€) to finance new projects in food innovation to create value for their clients and promote the consumption of sustainable clams in targeted audiences. Specifically, this campaign will be used to collect funds for developing new products, packaging, and organic certification. This is the third R&D project funded by GoParity.

In August 2020, the company started the production of clam seeds in a Marine Bio Center in Nazaré, a pioneering project at the European level, which included the bivalve hatchery, a laboratory for R&D, and offices. In June of the same year, the installation of the offshore clam farm, in Alvor was finished, with an area of 100 hectares, and the capacity to produce 600 tons of clams per year, thus achieving total control of the production cycle of this bivalve.

The Biomarinho Center has already produced tens of millions of clam seeds. The nursery is running according to plan. In recent months Oceano Fresco has received customers in their nursery and the reactions have been unanimous about the high quality of the clams.

The first sales of semi-adults to shellfish farmers (to be seeded) will take place in September 2021. The sale of adults for human consumption is planned for the last month of this year.

Four more staff members have already been recruited, since July 2021, and recruitment will continue to grow in the coming months.

El impacto

It is predicted that food production must double by 2050 to meet the demand from the world’s growing population. A sustainable blue economy will play a central role in alleviating the multiple demands on land resources and in tackling climate change. The sector can contribute by promoting the sustainable use of aquatic and marine resources and by providing an alternative source of protein with less environmental impact.

Direct Impact 

• Creation of 4 new job positions directly related to the research project, beyond the current 19 employees of the company. Furthermore, depending on the results of the research, the company will hire other 6 to 12 people.
• Increase in the production productivity, in which it will be possible to produce more clams using fewer resources for each Kg produced. The company expects to triple the clam’s production with the same level of resources usage, which they will be able to confirm with tests within the R&D project.
• Investment in research and development (R&D) promotes innovation in the industry, in terms of processes and technology. The project thrives for a greater understanding of clams’ genetics and its main disease, the development of new cultivation technologies but also improved cultivation processes.
• By providing an alternative source of protein, the sustainable cultivation of clams will not only contribute to alleviating the multiple demands on land resources, but also to restoring marine resources and the seas’ biodiversity, by being an alternative to intensive fishing.

Indirect Impact

• Promoting local economy, through collaboration with the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), and the region’s producers.

"Can the ocean feed us sustainably?" written by Rodrigo Clímaco, responsible for the clam farm of Oceano Fresco.

Impact Indicators

1

Empleos creados

Contribución a los Objetivos
de Desarrollo Sostenible

Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible

Viabilidad Financiera

The off-shore farm will have a total investment of 3,1 million euros, of which 1,5 million were secured by the MAR2020 program; 800K€ by the company's own capital and the remaining through various campaigns with GoParity.

In April 2020, Oceano Fresco announced the closing of a 3,8M€ additional investment from BlueCrow Capital, the funds' manager of the Venture Capital BlueCrow Innovation, which invests in national industrial R&D projects, operating in the economy and in innovative production technologies. So far, the total aggregate investments are close to 7.2M€ for the construction of Oceano Fresco’s Bio Marine Centre in Nazaré and its off-shore exploration.

The first sales are predicted for September this year.

Download Información Financiera para el Inversor de Financiación Colaborativa (IFIFC)

El Promotor

Sobre Oceano Fresco S.A.

Oceano Fresco fue fundado en 2015 por  Bernardo Ferreira de Carvalho.

La empresa desarrolla y comercializa bivalvos de alto valor, utilizando métodos modernos de acuicultura y una sólida base científica para convertirse en el actor de referencia en esta industria mundial altamente sostenible y en crecimiento. El lema de la empresa es "Liberar el potencial de los mariscos a través de la acuicultura impulsada por la ciencia" y está dirigida por un Consejo de Administración de 5 directores que combinan la cría de plantas y peces con la experiencia empresarial, incluyendo el lanzamiento y la ampliación de empresas de nueva creación. Cuentan con el apoyo de un equipo operativo cada vez más numeroso (40 personas) que se ocupa de la I+D, la producción y el negocio, así como de un Consejo Asesor de 2 personas con expertos en cría de renombre mundial.

La empresa ha construido un Centro BioMarino de última generación, que incluye un criadero, laboratorios y oficinas en el centro de Portugal, así como una granja marina de 100 hectáreas en la costa de la región del Algarve. Con estos activos poco comunes y complementarios, la empresa aplicará métodos avanzados de selección y cría de especies de almejas autóctonas europeas de alto valor nutricional y comercial, que actualmente están siendo sustituidas en el mercado por sus homólogas asiáticas de bajo valor organoléptico.

El equipo

Bernardo Carvalho

Director general y Director ejecutivo

Emprendedor y asesor independiente para empresas líderes en agrogenética, farmacéutica y banca.

Frederico Reis

Director de operaciones y Director ejecutivo

Ejecutivo principal de marketing y ventas con más de 15 años de experiencia en el sector «FMCG» (bienes de consumo de alta rotación en almacén), atención sanitaria del consumidor, electrónica y venta minorista de alimentos en toda Europa.

Nuno Arantes Oliveir

Cofundador y presidente del Consejo de asesores

Ejecutivo de ciencias biológicas y emprendedor. Doctorado en Genética. MIT Portugal, NOVA-SBE. Fondo de 200 millones. Investigación en la Universidad de California.

Olivier Cottet

Miembro del Consejo de Asesores

Especialista en el cultivo de plantas. Más de 20 años de experiencia en la gestión de programas de cultivo dentro de Syngenta.

Stan Allen

Miembro del Consejo de asesores

Especialista en la crianza de mariscos. Director del Centro de Genética y Tecnología de Cría de Acuicultura del Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Virginia (EE. UU.)

Josien Bakker

Non-executive Director Aqua Spark

Francisco Belo

Non-executive Directo, BlueCrow Capital

Rui Rodrigues

Non-executive Director, Indico Capital Partners

Modelo de negocio

Novedades