PPTI Web Exclusive: The Trojan horse of tuna – why BettaF!sh believes the future of seafood is canned

Seaweed-powered TU-NAH and SAL-NOM bring a familiar format to a new food future. CEO Deniz Ficicioglu shares how BettaF!sh is redefining seafood through convenience, culture, and regeneration

When consumers walk down the canned goods aisle, few expect to stumble upon food system disruption. But that is exactly where BettaF!sh wants them to. “Almost 80% of all tuna consumed globally is canned,” says Deniz Ficicioglu, CEO & Co-founder. “It is a massive market people rely on for long shelf life, convenience, and ease of use. Cans democratize change. They are affordable, shelf-stable, and need no refrigeration. Cans are the Trojan horse, familiar on the outside and transformational on the inside.”

While much of the alternative protein world has raced to replicate premium cuts or craft futuristic prototypes, BettaF!sh took a decidedly practical path. Its TU-NAH and SAL-NOM products retain the iconic packaging that makes canned fish instantly recognizable, but inside lies an entirely different proposition: seafood made not from animals but from seaweed and plants.

“The iconic packaging is a gift that we are using to our advantage,” Ficicioglu explains. “BettaF!sh TU-NAH looks, feels, and tastes like tuna, but it is powered by seaweed and plants. The beloved can stays, because that is what makes it approachable. The future is what is inside.”

The decision to start with cans was partly about scale, but also about behavior. Canned fish is ingrained in daily routines across cultures, from German tuna pizza to Japanese onigiri. By working within those formats rather than against them, BettaF!sh sidesteps the novelty problem that plagues many alternative proteins.

Consumers also increasingly want alternatives. “Many canned-fish fans are seeking options because of heavy-metal concerns, and doctors increasingly advise reducing exposure,” Ficicioglu says. “Canned TU-NAH and SAL-NOM hit the sweet spot: familiar format, better story, and immediate impact.”

The seaweed advantage

If the can is the Trojan horse, seaweed is the engine powering the revolution. For Ficicioglu, the appeal is both ecological and culinary. “Seaweed is the original ocean crop,” she says. “No land, no fertilizer, no freshwater, just sunlight and waves. Wherever it is cultivated, fish populations tend to recover, ship traffic drops, pollution drops, and agricultural nutrients that flow into the sea are captured and cycled instead of being lost forever.”

At a time when land-based agriculture faces mounting stress from droughts, floods, and pests, seaweed offers resilience. But Ficicioglu’s passion is equally rooted in flavor. “Seaweed is a nutritional powerhouse and a clean umami engine, it is not a garnish. It brings its own identity to food.”

“Cans are the Trojan horse, familiar on the outside and transformational on the inside”

She points out that the category’s potential is still vastly underexplored. “We talk about seaweed as if it were one thing, maybe two if you count nori and kelp. The reality is closer to 10,000 largely under-researched species. Some taste naturally of lemon, pepper, even truffle. Some look like spinach or spaghetti. Each species carries a distinct package of nutrients, flavors, and functionalities. I mean, holy shit, this is exciting, finding the full flavor map of land mirrored in the ocean!”

Unlike some players in the alt protein space, BettaF!sh never set out to chase indistinguishable replicas. “We do not try to grow the ocean in a tank, we bring the ocean to your plate through its most regenerative ingredient,” Ficicioglu says.

That meant avoiding the standard toolkit of soy, wheat, or methylcellulose. “We think we need broader diversity in ingredients and that shows in our product,” she says. TU-NAH, for instance, contains visible seaweed bits – a detail that might have scared away more cautious brands but one that German consumers embraced. “It naturally looks different from that washed-out rosé tuna, and it is embraced when the flavor lands,” Ficicioglu notes.

Lessons from German-speaking markets

Germany, Austria, and Switzerland became the testing ground for BettaF!sh’s approach. Ficicioglu has found that these markets, often described as price-sensitive, are also unusually curious. “Consumers here read labels closely,” she says. “That curiosity makes them excited about new inputs like mycoprotein or seaweed.”

Foodservice has offered a second proving ground. “University canteens increasingly serve a default-vegetarian audience, and companies with international teams want to move beyond goulash or currywurst toward a broader set of plant-forward meals,” she explains. “That is where we fit – long shelf life, easy to portion, and versatile across menus.”

Convincing buyers in these markets, she argues, builds credibility far beyond the region. “This region is both cautious and pioneering. Consumers are skeptical of hype, but quick to embrace solutions that make sense and are affordable and credible. If you can convince a German retailer to list your product, you can probably convince anyone.”

Regeneration, not just substitution

Ficicioglu is adamant that BettaF!sh is not about being ‘less bad’ than conventional fish. It is about actively improving ecosystems. “Seaweed cultivation draws down carbon, buffers acidification, rebuilds habitat, and requires no freshwater or fertilizers,” she says. “When you choose BettaF!sh, you are not only avoiding harm, you are helping regeneration, and you are de-risking supply against climate volatility. BettaF!sh is regenerative by design.”

This regenerative framing shifts the narrative. For decades, sustainability in food has often been about mitigation: lower emissions, less water, fewer antibiotics. Ficicioglu wants to replace that logic with something more ambitious. “Most alternatives still rely on land, water, or heavy inputs. Seaweed flips the frame from ‘less bad’ to net-positive.”

For Ficicioglu, seafood is more than protein. It is personal. “Seafood is culture and memory for so many of us,” she says. “I grew up with the sea as a reference point for nourishment and freedom, and I wanted people to keep that joy without emptying the ocean.”

That emotional connection drives BettaF!sh’s brand identity. The company leads with playful design and consumer appeal, but always with deeper purpose. “We always lead with taste,” Ficicioglu says. “If consumers love the product, education on our mission follows naturally. In the end, people want convenience, so our job is convenient sustainability. Make the right choice the easy and delicious one, and adoption scales.”

Scaling ambition

Looking ahead, Ficicioglu wants measurable impact on multiple fronts. “We want seaweed-based seafood in every major European retailer, millions of cans moved, and measurable carbon and biodiversity gains from expanded seaweed farming.”

But she is equally focused on culture. “Most importantly, a cultural evolution: eating from the ocean means regenerating it, not extracting from it.”

Her message to policymakers and investors is blunt. “Invest in the boring and the moonshots, we need both to build a complete and resilient food system. By ‘boring’ I mean the infrastructure – seaweed farming, ingredient processing, and institutional procurement – the plumbing that unlocks scale. Support companies that can scale now and in ten years. Today’s scalers lay the groundwork for tomorrow’s breakthroughs.”

“Seaweed flips the frame from ‘less bad’ to net-positive”

Currently, the imbalance is stark. “Only about 1% of impact investment goes into our oceans today, which makes SDG 14 the most underfunded of all. This is a massive opportunity for investors with clear returns.”

When asked what excites her most about the road ahead, Ficicioglu is clear. “Reshaping the story,” she says. “For a century seafood has meant animals and extraction on a massive scale. What we need now is multi-path progress – alternatives that work today, bridge solutions while better ones scale, and far greater ingredient diversity. That way we can rethink ocean food entirely. Plant-based seafood and seaweed let us do that, with joy and regeneration at the center.”

In her telling, the humble can of TU-NAH becomes more than a product. It is a portal into a different food future – one where convenience, culture, and regeneration converge. “The can is our Trojan horse,” Ficicioglu says with a smile. “But the real revolution is what’s inside.”