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TOKYO — A plant-based tuna substitute priced below the real fish hits the Japanese market next year as a solution for the declining supplies of freshly caught seafood.
Food company Mitsui DM Sugar plans to launch the Osakana Kakumei — or "fish revolution" — brand of protein carrying the flavor of maguro tuna. The product possesses the look and texture of tuna using technology from subsidiary Taisho Technos, a maker of food additives.
The price will be set at just over 2,000 yen ($13) per kilogram. As of August, the wholesale price of tuna at Tokyo's Toyosu fish market stood at 3,262 yen per kilogram.
Osakana Kakumei is made with konjac yam, seaweed and bamboo fibers to recreate the texture of tuna. The product contains about 6 grams of fiber for every 100 grams.
The substitute tuna can be eaten as sashimi or as part of other delicacies. Annual production is expected to reach 10 metric tons by 2028.
"We seek to foster [Osakana Kakumei] into a food that is as beloved as imitation crab meat," a Mitsui DM Sugar manager said.
Japan's fishing industry faces difficulties from rising sea temperatures amid global warming and a decrease in the number of fishers.
The fishing and aquaculture industries produced 3.63 million tons of seafood in 2024, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reports, down 20% from 2014. There were 123,100 fishers in 2022, a 30% decrease from 2013.
Other Japanese companies such as Azuma Foods and NH Foods sell sashimi made from konjac flour, but the steep price hampers widespread adoption. Azuma's product costs 990 yen for 230 grams.
Low production volumes tend to mean higher prices for plant-based meat and fish alternatives. Investments in alternative food products peaked in 2021, declining ever since, global venture capital firm AgFunder reports.
Mitsui DM Sugar differentiates its maguro by marketing it as a substitute for people who cannot eat sashimi.
"We see plant-based as one option" for sales, a development team member said. "We decided to focus on the fact that there is a surprisingly large number of people who want to eat sashimi but can't."
Nursing homes rarely serve raw foods like sashimi due to the risk of poisoning. Mitsui DM Sugar plans to market the new food for pregnant women and for hospitals as well.
The company will consider developing products containing nutrients other than dietary fiber, as well as commercializing versions based on other seafood such as salmon and squid.
Some other products in this sector also add unique value. Nissin Foods Holdings has developed an imitation eel made from soybeans and other plant-based ingredients that mimics the real thing by layering ingredients, recreating the texture and flavor of eel.
by NikkeiAsia