Valladolid-based indoor aquaculture company Noray Seafood has secured an investment of 16 million euros in a deal led by French group Creadev. SWEN Blue Ocean and Stellar Impact, a fund managed by Telos Impact, have also contributed.

The sum invested will support the growth plans of this innovative company, which aims to increase its sustainable shrimp production capacity at its facilities in Medina del Campo. The firm will in this way be able to expand its client portfolio, serving more supermarkets and HoReCa markets, as well as direct consumers.

Shrimp a long way from the sea
Noray Seafood's secret to farming shrimp indoors at a distance of 300 kilometres from the nearest coast lies in the use of microbial technology. This creates a controlled bacterial culture environment for its shrimp to thrive in, with a highly efficient operating and capital expenditure profile where 100% of the water used is recycled, and is free of any antibiotics or chemicals. Furthermore, it also addresses challenges such as mangrove deforestation, and lack of traceability.

Noray's facilities cover the full production process, from hatchery to harvesting. Noray has been awarded ASC certification by the independent international Aquaculture Stewardship Council, in recognition of its high sustainability standards as the only indoor shrimp farm in the world. Their product has also been recognised for its freshness.

Local, sustainable production
Creadev specialises in investing in the agri-food, health and sustainable consumption sectors. Their investment director Alexandre van der Wees said that, “We are thrilled to be joining Noray Seafood and contributing to producing shrimps locally and sustainably in Europe. This investment fits into Creadev's Food & Agricultural strategy of providing long-term support to cutting edge companies in the aquaculture, Agtech and consumer food sectors”.

Olivier Raybaud of SWEN Capital Partners talks about innovation and sustainability: “We have been impressed by the quality of the Noray Seafood team and the excellence of an innovative technology that puts shrimp farming on track to sustainability”.

A long and exciting journey
In the same vein, Guillaume Boury of Stellar Impact stated that, “We are delighted to invest in the Noray Seafood team which has designed a best-in-class shrimp production model which preserves natural ecosystems and significantly reduces water consumption”.

Noray Seafood’s CEO Bjorn Aspheim is delighted with the new step forward, “It has been a long and exciting journey in developing a system for indoor shrimp farming 300 km away from the coast, to the surprise of many locals. We are excited to continue growing and delivering shrimps across Europe”.

^{Photo: Noray Seafood}