The Plant Based Seafood Co

What The Plant Based Seafood Co does

The Plant Based Seafood Co is a privately held, family-run producer of plant-based seafood alternatives headquartered in Grimstead, Virginia, founded by a mother-daughter duo — CEO Monica Talbert and CIO Shelly Van Cleave — who bring over 20 years of conventional seafood industry experience. The company operates a portfolio of three distinct sub-brands: Mind Blown™ (an award-winning 100% plant-based seafood line covering scallops, crab cakes, and seafood extenders), SMASH it! Foods (a 50/50 blended salmon + functional superfoods product line), and Hills Bay Classics (value-driven crab cakes and seafood extenders for foodservice, private label, and institutional kitchens). Core technology consists of proprietary plant-protein formulations designed to replicate the taste, texture, and culinary functionality of conventional shellfish and finfish using clean-label ingredients.

The company generates revenue through four streams: (1) foodservice product sales through online distributors such as WebstaurantStore in bulk pack formats (e.g., 12 x 8 oz Dusted Scallops); (2) retail grocery product sales through chains including Wegmans; (3) direct-to-consumer e-commerce via theplantbasedseafoodco.com, shipping Mind Blown™, SMASH it! Foods, and Hills Bay Classics products directly to US consumers; and (4) private-label and institutional supply, providing plant-based seafood products to foodservice operators and retail brands under their own branding for wholesale and licensing-style revenue. Pricing is not publicly disclosed on the company website and must be obtained from distributors.

The company remains very early-stage: headcount is 1-10 employees, total disclosed funding to date is $75,000 from the HATCH Aquaculture Accelerator (2020), no revenue figure has been disclosed, and geographic operations are domestic (United States) only. Marketing is conducted through the company website, corporate LinkedIn, earned media in trade publications (vegconomist, PR Newswire), and co-marketing exposure through retail and foodservice distribution partners. There is no parent company, no outside institutional shareholders identified, and no board composition disclosed.

Name

The Plant Based Seafood Co

Legal name

The Plant Based Seafood Corp.

Website

https://plantbasedseafoodco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Plant Based Seafood Co is a family-run Virginia-based producer of plant-based seafood alternatives operating three brands — Mind Blown™, SMASH it! Foods, and Hills Bay Classics — distributed through retail (Wegmans), foodservice (WebstaurantStore), DTC e-commerce, and private-label channels across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Plant-based Seafood Alternatives

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (3117), Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (31171)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Special-Diet Prepared Meat & Seafood Meals (Low-Sodium, Keto, Gluten-Free) (AFANAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Frozen Seafood Meals & Value-Added Seafood (CRADADAG), Breaded/Battered & Fried Seafood Products (Frozen Convenience) (AFANADAH), Marinated & Seasoned Seafood (Value-Added Raw/Par-Cooked) (AFANALAE)

Keywords

• Plant-based seafood alternatives
• Foodservice seafood distribution
• Private label seafood
• Vegan seafood products
• Frozen seafood manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Gwynn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Foodservice product sales: Bulk foodservice pack sales of Mind Blown™ products (e.g., 12 x 8 oz Dusted Scallops) distributed through online foodservice resellers such as WebstaurantStore to professional chef and restaurant customers.
2. Retail grocery product sales: Retail unit sales of Mind Blown™ plant-based seafood products through grocery chains such as Wegmans for consumer purchase.
3. Direct-to-consumer e-commerce: Online retail sales through the company's own website (theplantbasedseafoodco.com), shipping Mind Blown™, SMASH it! Foods, and Hills Bay Classics products directly to consumers.
4. Private label / institutional supply: Supply of plant-based seafood products to institutional kitchens, foodservice operators, and private-label retail partners under their own branding, generating wholesale and licensing-style revenue.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Plant Based Seafood Co. develops, manufactures, and sells plant-based and blended seafood alternatives across three sub-brands: Mind Blown™ (100% plant-based Dusted Scallops, Crab Cakes, and Seafood Extender for retail and foodservice), SMASH it! Foods (50/50 blend of sustainable salmon with functional superfoods in a "Salmon Smashers" format), and Hills Bay Classics (value-driven Crab Cakes and Seafood Extenders for foodservice, private label, and institutional kitchens). The company sells through retail grocery (Wegmans), foodservice distributors (WebstaurantStore), its own DTC e-commerce site, and private-label/white-label supply to institutional buyers.

Product overview

The Plant Based Seafood Co. operates a portfolio of three distinct consumer-facing sub-brands rather than a single unified product: Mind Blown™ (the award-winning 100% plant-based seafood alternative line for retail and foodservice), SMASH it! Foods (a blended 50/50 sustainable salmon + functional superfoods innovation in a smash-able format), and Hills Bay Classics (value-driven Crab Cakes and Seafood Extenders for foodservice, private label, and institutional kitchens). Together these three brands comprise the company's family of brands delivering 100% plant-based seafood, blended seafood-and-plant products, and superfood + seafood innovations aimed at replacing conventional seafood.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mind Blown™: Award-winning, ocean-friendly, 100% plant-based seafood alternatives loved by chefs, vegans, and flexitarians.
• SMASH it! Foods
• Hills Bay Classics

Products and services

• Mind Blown™ Dusted Scallops Award-winning, ocean-friendly 100% plant-based scallop analogue available in retail packs and in bulk 12 x 8 oz foodservice packs pre-dusted for pan-frying; designed for chefs, restaurants, vegans, and flexitarians seeking a sustainable scallop substitute.
• Mind Blown™ Crab Cakes and Seafood Extender Plant-based crab cake and seafood extender products under the Mind Blown™ brand, formulated as direct substitutes for conventional shellfish products in both retail and foodservice applications.
• SMASH it! Foods Salmon Smashers A first-of-its-kind 50/50 blend of sustainable salmon and colorful functional superfoods in a fun, smash-able format, combining a plant-based salmon analog with superfood ingredients for an enhanced nutritional profile.
• Hills Bay Classics Crab Cakes & Seafood Extenders Value-driven Crab Cakes and Seafood Extenders targeted at the seafood industry — foodservice operators, private-label customers, institutional kitchens, and value shoppers — supplied through the company's private-label and institutional channel.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• WebstaurantStorecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWebstaurantStore is an online foodservice distributor that lists and sells The Plant Based Seafood Co's Mind Blown™ Dusted Scallops in bulk 12 x 8 oz foodservice packs. The platform gives the company reach into professional chef and restaurant customers across the United States.
• WegmanscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWegmans is a national grocery retailer that carries Mind Blown™ plant-based seafood products for consumer purchase, including online ordering. The relationship enables brick-and-mortar and online retail distribution of the brand's products to consumer shoppers.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ocean Hugger Foods: Ocean Hugger Foods makes plant-based sushi-grade tuna analogs (Ahimi) and other seafood alternatives, addressing the same plant-based shellfish/finfish substitution use cases as The Plant Based Seafood Co.
• Good Catch: Good Catch is a plant-based seafood brand (shelf-stable and frozen tuna, salmon, crab, and breaded fish analogs) and is the most direct head-to-head competitor in the US plant-based seafood category, sold through both retail and foodservice.
• Sophie Kitchen: Sophie Kitchen produces plant-based seafood products (plant-based prawns, fish, scallops) sold in retail and foodservice, making it a direct comparably-sized competitor in the plant-based seafood category.
• New Wave Foods: New Wave Foods produces plant-based shrimp alternatives for foodservice and retail, directly competing in the value-added plant-based shellfish segment where The Plant Based Seafood Co's Mind Blown™ Crab Cakes and Dusted Scallops compete.

Emerging players

• Hungry Planet: Hungry Planet makes plant-based seafood and meat alternatives for foodservice (notably cruise lines, universities, and restaurants), making it a peer in the plant-based protein foodservice segment where The Plant Based Seafood Co is expanding.
• Tofurky: Tofurky is an established plant-based protein brand with retail distribution that has explored seafood-adjacent SKUs; it is a comparable in the broader plant-based protein retail channel rather than a direct seafood substitute.
• Finless Foods: Finless Foods is developing cell-cultivated and plant-based seafood (notably bluefin tuna alternatives), targeting the same end consumer use case — sustainable seafood substitutes — through a different technology pathway.

Broad incumbents

• Beyond Meat: Beyond Meat is a leading plant-based protein incumbent that has periodically explored seafood adjacencies; its broad retail distribution muscle and brand awareness set the competitive ceiling for smaller plant-based specialists.
• Wicked Kitchen: Wicked Kitchen (Plantega/Wicked Foods) is a plant-based prepared foods brand with strong foodservice presence and retail partnerships; it competes for similar chef and retailer mindshare in plant-based menu innovation.
• Gardein: Gardein is a large, established plant-based protein brand (owned by Conagra) with broad retail and foodservice distribution; it is a broader incumbent that has expanded into seafood-adjacent plant-based categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-plant-based-seafood-corp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Plant Based Seafood Co