Founders Interviews Bernardo Ferreira de Carvalho of Oceano Fresco
On this month’s edition of Founders Interviews we bring you Bernardo Carvalho, CEO and Co-founder at Oceano Fresco.
Oceano Fresco is a sustainable seafood company, using innovative aquaculture techniques to grow high-quality bivalve species.
With Oceano Fresco’s vertically integrated operations, the company is able to farm in a sustainable and traceable manner. First, clams are bred in the hatchery at their state-of-the-art BioMarine Center in Nazaré, Portugal. They then move to the world’s first open-sea clam farm off the coast of Lagos, Portugal, where they are fed with naturally available microalgae and grow to adulthood. This process is supported by a dedicated team of scientists leading Oceano Fresco’s R&D and selective breeding programs, which have been awarded a ‘Seal of Excellence’ by the European Commission.
First, can you tell us about your professional background and the path that led you to Oceano Fresco?
I have a business degree and also some business background. I did an MBA and worked in consulting, which is unrelated to the business that I founded of bivalve aquaculture. However, there is a bridge between my business background and the startup that I founded. I worked for several years in Agrogenetics in Switzerland and that opened my eyes to think about how can we feed the world in a sustainable way. Eventually, that led me to think about how to farm the sea and aquaculture.
How was Oceano Fresco born?
I was working in agriculture, and I really enjoyed the field. So, I asked myself: How can I apply what I have learned over the years working in Switzerland? I thought, well, farming the land is already a highly developed sector with economies of scale, which makes it a difficult space for entrepreneurs to break into.
Then I wondered: What about the sea? We don’t farm the sea yet, but we should, for many reasons. That led me to think: What do we farm in the sea? We farm finfish, crustaceans and bivalves. Finfish is like agriculture, a mature sector with big players and also some animal welfare issues, so I didn’t like that. Crustaceans, like shrimp, that’s a warm-water culture, and I’m from Portugal where the water is cold, so it wasn’t a good fit. This left bivalves as the biggest opportunity. Bivalves include clams, oysters, scallops and mussels. And that’s how it all started.
How is your product different from others in the market? What makes it unique?
Our product is as good as the best on the market. The key difference is that we are able to produce at scale, which our competitors cannot. This gives us both scale and reliability advantages.
Additionally, unlike our competitors, we highlight the nutritional and environmental benefits of our product — something that’s not traditionally done. We leverage science, technology, and business strategies to create value.
What has been the most crucial moment in the history of Oceano Fresco so far?
The most significant challenge we faced came after several years of farming, both on land in the hatchery and in the ocean, which was highly innovative. We discovered that we had suffered a crab attack which had eaten a portion of our production — something that wasn’t accounted for in our business plan. We had anticipated issues like diseases or other common challenges, but suddenly we were dealing with crabs that broke into our nets and consumed our stock multiple times. It was a shock, as we realized how little we knew about farming in the ocean, which is understandable when venturing into something so new.
If you could go back in time, is there anything you’d do differently?
That’s the paradox of life. There are so many things I would do differently. For instance, we would have communicated early on that developing a novel method of ocean farming would take much longer than we initially expected.
Do you have any tips or advice for an aspiring founder?
I think the main lesson is that everything takes much longer, is much harder, and requires far more money than founders anticipate in the beginning. Founders need to be prepared for the significant gap between their expectations and what reality will actually deliver.
What can we expect from Oceano Fresco now that you have raised a €17M round?
We will gradually advance through our production chain. First, we will produce seeds and begin selling adult animals. After that, we’ll focus on developing new farming methods that will enable us to scale up efficiently.
Lastly, what has been the most challenging part of growing your startup? And the funnier part?
The most challenging aspect has been dealing with disappointments. When things don’t go as planned, setbacks happen, and we need to overcome that feeling.
The most rewarding part is seeing the people at Oceano Fresco, as well as other stakeholders, feel fulfilled, proud, and happy with what we’ve achieved. Thank you Indico for believing in our potential!
*Interview by Catarina Rebola — Marketing, Communications & Events
