Breakthrough tech turns fish waste to ‘fillets’
A Finnish food tech company has developed a technique to turn fish processing sidestreams into a high quality fillet-like consumer product.
Hailia Nordic’s “Nyhtökirjolohi” (rainbow trout) is based on trout sidestreams, but the company says the concept could be applied to other finfish.
The “pulled rainbow trout” packs will be on the shelves of 500 Finnish supermarkets this month.
Hailia’s groundbreaking technology takes the parts of the fish that are discarded in the filleting process but are still nutritious and full of meat, such as frames, heads and fins, and turns them into a tasty food product that is ready to use.
The texture of the end product resembles that of cooked fish fillet, making it a versatile ingredient for home kitchens and industrial food producers alike. The product launched now uses rainbow trout, but the process can also be applied to other fish as well.
Hailia is working with fish supplier Kalavapriikki and S Group, a retail cooperative that holds a 48% market share of Finnish retail and also operates in Estonia, to bring its product to the market.
Michaela Lindström, CEO of Hailia, said: “We are committed to driving the blue food revolution and redefining seafood industry practices to operate within planetary boundaries while improving profitability. However, no company can do this alone. Through this partnership with S Group and Kalavapriikki, we can provide a very strong proof of concept for this entire circular concept.
“The food produced with Hailia’s patent-pending technology ticks all the boxes required by industrial food producers, including sufficient production capacity to meet the needs of a major retail chain like S Group.”
Hailia CEO Michaela Lindstrom
Selling fish processing sidestreams for use in food products is 10 to 15 times more profitable than their typical use as a source of feed or fish oil.
Hailia’s ambition is to establish similar partnerships internationally and to licence its unique technology to fish processing companies. The company is currently raising capital in a funding round closing later in the year.
In April 2024, Hailia won the World Food Innovation Award for best technology, and the company was listed as one of the 30 most interesting circular economy solutions for nature by the World Circular Economy Forum.
