Agri-giants are perplexed by seafood. Here’s how companies can change that.
While seafood has proved resilient during the COVID pandemic, investors remain reluctant.
Ignacio Kleinman, managing partner of Antarctica Advisors, says large animal protein companies are still largely perplexed by the complexity of seafood.
“[They] are used to beef, that comes from only one animal, pork that only comes from only one animal,” he explained while speaking as a panelist for the IntraFish Seafood Investor Forum earlier this month .
He added those sectors might gravitate to salmon or other species that are well-managed, but continue to function in a model that focuses on one species, versus several.
“They find the sector a little riskier,” he said of aquaculture, adding that wild-caught seafood is outright ignored by traditional investors because of risk factors that include product variability and high levels of regulation.
“Not all investors are ready to make that jump,” he said. “Those that have, they have done very well.”