Description

Oceano Fresco is a shellfish aquaculture company that aims to feed the world in a sustainable way.

This is the second Oceano Fresco Growth campaign after successfully raising 250.000€ in the first campaign to develop productivity improvements in the areas of cultivation, onshore and offshore, and throughout the stages of the clam life cycle including new planning and piloting capabilities (tests, trials, and sampling) and improvements in the key areas of micro-plankton breeding, pre-fattening, and clam sieving. 

Now, the funds raised through this second campaign will be used for: 

• Planning and construction of the new onshore operations center for storage, packaging, and shipping.
• Study and acquisition of equipment and consumables to ensure the proper functioning of the new onshore operations center.

The Growth series is meant to finance projects that enhance the growth of the company's production in order to enter the market with a larger sales scale.

The company has raised 1.55 million euros through GoParity's investor community since its first campaign in January 2020.

The amount raised in Oceano Fresco I, II, III, IV, V, and VI campaigns (730,000€) was used to co-finance the installation of the world's first open sea clam farm in Alvor. The clams are suspended in the open sea where they can grow in their natural environment and in a sustainable way.

The amount raised in Oceano Fresco Innovation I, II, and III campaigns (500,000€) was used to co-finance two research and development (R&D) projects focused on the cultivation of clams and one project in the area of food innovation. The R&D projects in the areas of genetics and pathology are highly innovative worldwide, leading to two incentives totaling 1.4 million. The food innovation project aims to develop new products and packaging to create value and promote sustainable clam consumption.

In August 2020, the company started clam seed production at a Bio-Marine Center in Nazaré, a pioneering project in Europe, which included the bivalve hatchery, a laboratory with R&D and offices. In June of the same year, it completed the installation of the open sea farm in Alvor, 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 year 2021 marked the start of the first production with the hatchery managing to produce more than 50 million clam seeds and these same clams growing to adulthood well and fast in the open sea and with very positive reactions from customers. The next challenge for 2022 is to create a larger scale for production via increases in cultivation productivity.

The Impact

Direct impact

• Creation of 4 jobs, in addition to the company's current 27 employees: the financing of both Oceano Fresco Growth campaigns will enable the hiring of 4 new people.
• Increased productivity in production, reducing the resources needed per kg of clams.
• Promotion of innovation in the industry, in terms of processes and technology.

Indirect Impact

• Promotion of the marine ecosystem: a sustainable alternative to intensive fishing as a source of protein, the sustainable production of clams contributes to the restoration of biodiversity and marine stocks.

"Can the ocean feed us sustainably?", written by Rodrigo Clímaco, responsible for Oceano Fresco's nursery.

Impact Indicators

1

jobs created

Contribution to the Sustainable
Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals

Financial viability

Oceano Fresco began its sales at the end of 2021 and hopes to reach 9M€ in sales in less than 3 years. The main market will be European, with sales also planned for Japan and South Korea. The repayment of this loan is expected to come from sales proceeds. In addition, the project has recently secured over 6M € of investment from new shareholders, which will allow the company to invest in its long-term growth.

Download Key Investment Information Sheet

The Promoter

About Oceano Fresco S.A.

Oceano Fresco was founded in 2015 by Bernardo Ferreira de Carvalho.

The company is focused on sustainable aquaculture of high-value bivalves (European clams), using scientific research and methods, and an innovative approach in the systematic improvement of aquaculture. Funded in 2015 by Bernardo Ferreira de Carvalho, the company's motto is: “we can regenerate nature if we farm and eat better”. The company is led by a Board of five Directors with scientific, financial, and business experience, including launching and scaling up of start-ups. They are supported by a growing Operational Team (43 people) covering R&D, production, and business and several Advisory Board members with world-renowned fish breeding experts.

The company has built a state-of-the-art Biomarine Center, including a hatchery, labs, and offices in central Portugal, as well as a 100-hectare sea farm off the coast of the Algarve region. With these rare and complementary assets, the company will apply advanced selection and breeding methods to native European clam species of high nutritional and market value, which are presently being replaced in the market by their low-value Asian counterparts (low organoleptic value). 

The team

Bernardo Carvalho

CEO and Managing Director

Entrepreneur and independent consultant for leading companies in agro-genetics, pharma, and banking.

Frederico Reis

CCO and Managing Director

Marketing & Sales senior executive with >15 years in FMCG, Consumer Healthcare, Electronics and food Retail across Europe.

Nuno Arantes Oliveir

Co-founder and Advisory Board Chairman

Life Science executive and entrepreneur. PhD in Genetics. MIT Portugal, NOVA-SBE. 200M Fund. Research at Univ. of California.

Olivier Cottet

Member of the Advisory Board

Plant breeding specialist. >20 years experience managing breeding programs at Syngenta.

Stan Allen

Member of the Advisory Board

Shellfish breeding specialist. Director of Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (USA)

Josien Bakker

Non-executive Director Aqua Spark

Francisco Belo

Non-executive Directo, BlueCrow Capital

Rui Rodrigues

Non-executive Director, Indico Capital Partners

Business Model

Updates