The world is facing a major food challenge in the coming years. As the population grows, so does the need for protein-rich foods. You can eat more legumes, but you can also find part of the solution underwater, if you ask the two DTU students, Sari Guci and Sigmar Gunnarsson.
They have developed a meatball based on blue mussels, which they plan on mass-producing. Imagine the classic chicken tenders or frikadelle you find in the supermarket fridge and freezer, ready to be heated up in the pan or oven - and then replace the main ingredient with a blue mussel-based option.
"Blue mussels are one of the most sustainable sources of animal protein right now because they have a very low carbon footprint and help keep the fjords where they are grown clean. Also, there are already several mussel farms in Denmark, but most of the catch is currently exported because demand is limited. We want to change that with our product, which is easy to prepare and has a recognizable appearance. We want to familiarize Danes with eating mussels for dinner," says Sigmar Gunnarsson.
It all started with a course back in 2023, where the two entrepreneurs and their old co-founder met and were introduced to the idea of reinventing the use of mussels in everyday Danish food. They asked themselves the question: How can you make this sustainable protein source more accessible to a population that generally rarely eats it?
"Flavour, appearance and texture are crucial when you want to make a breakthrough with a product, and when you use a new or overlooked main ingredient, you want it to remind consumers of foods they already know. That's why we currently coat the mixture, for example before frying, to give it a crispy golden surface. We have also developed and improved the texture with different complementary ingredients and changed the spice composition along the way so that the flavour is spicy enough to be exciting, but mild enough for chefs and families to prepare to their liking," explains Sari Guci.
Recognition at DTU student conference
The two entrepreneurs won third place at the student conference Green Challenge 2024, where students present sustainable projects to businesspeople and others, and that gave them renewed energy to continue the development. The goal is mass production so that one day you can buy a bag of blue mussel meatballs to take home from your local supermarket.
"In the long run, we're going for mass production because it's the only thing that makes sense with such a sustainable animal protein source. It would be a shame not to utilize its full potential. In the autumn of 2024, we tested Eat Myt (red. the product's name) at a food fair in Aarhus, and the interest was tremendous. So much so that we could hardly keep up with the demand for tastings. It confirmed to us that there is a market for our product when it is ready for sale," says Sigmar Gunnarsson.
Sari Guci continues:
"Right now, the plan is to start selling business to business, e.g., restaurants and canteens in larger companies and schools. Our product will be an easy additional option to the fish dishes they already have on the menu."
The Eat Myt team is currently preparing to test the product with restaurants. Right now, they have rented space in Kitchen Collective and are also working on development and refinements in the food laboratories at DTU Skylab, where there are plenty of resources - both physical and sparring partners who have given them good advice along the way. They also have a new team member and are applying for further funding and funding programs to take product development to the next level and the project even further.
"Currently, we are looking for more and more chefs and restaurants to work with, refining and giving us more feedback on our product. We're also applying for the Innofounder (entrepreneur development programme made by Innovationsfonden) to be able to develop the products further and build a stronger foundation for Eat Myt's future success," says Sigmar Gunnarsson.
