At Eco Blue Seafood we are super excited and extremely grateful to be able to pitch our project here on Kickstarter. This is an amazing platform, which of course would not be here if it was not for all the goodhearted people that back innovative and creative projects every single day. We can only hope that some of you will see our vision and be willing to share our dreams and ambitions by backing us.
The whole idea of growing Mangrove Crabs whilst doing good in the world dates back many years. The founder grew up in Queensland, Australia where the same species exists in the wild. He would catch them on the coast with his father and see them served in local restaurants as a delicacy. After a long career in managing large development projects, he decided to pursue his childhood dream three years ago, and make his start-up a reality. Upon funding of the pilot production the founder will relocate to Thailand to be on site throughout the process. About 18 months ago, the founder was joined by me, a professional business developer and entrepreneur with an ambition to build an internationally successful business whilst doing good for others and especially giving back to the people who will help make us reach out goals. Last year we were joined by a strategic partner, in the shape of a Danish seafood trader, who entered into a contract with Eco Blue Seafood, guaranteeing us sales of every Mangrove Crab produced.
In Thailand we have a number of team members and strategic partners, including a team of local aquaculture and Mangrove Crab experts, authority representatives, land owners and business people. This makes for optimal mix of Danish and local competencies in order to carry out this project and pave the way for international cooperation and co-creation on research and development of new industry technologies.
Eco Blue Seafood is all about meeting the ever growing global demand for food without emptying our seas, facing multiple species with extinction. We want to build a highly sustainable and across the board efficient aquaculture setup in Thailand, Southeast Asia. But not just any aquaculture setup. Next to building a healthy business, we are going to work with local authorities and universities to restore the natural habitat of the Giant Mangrove Crab and bring this over-fished species back to the wild. We are going to engage in co-research into and co-creation of new technology and knowledge to further modernize the aquaculture industry, benefiting the environment and the quality of life of both animals and local farmers. The initial project is a pilot production to gain proof of concept, before venturing into the full-scale setup, where we will need to bring in further funding from professional investors.
So far the internal team has managed to raise DKK 500,000 equal to one third of the total amount of DKK 1,500,000 needed to realize the project. Eco Blue Seafood has been researching the project for the past 3 years, gaining critical industry insight and getting connected to the right people in the right places…especially locally in Thailand. We have gathered a team of local aquaculture and Mangrove Crab experts, partnered up with local professors from the aquaculture university and obtained project approval from the Thai Department of Fisheries and Thai Board of Investments. The next step is to set up the pilot production and make sure everything is done right and we manage to handle the different growth stages according to plan. This also means educating local farmers in the techniques of nursing, growing and harvesting the Mangrove Crabs. Eco Blue Seafood already has a signed contract with a Danish Seafood trader, so the commercial part of the project is all set. This gives us the security to be able to focus on the just as important aspects of bringing the Mangrove Crab back to wild and restoring the mangrove forests that provide their natural habitat. During and upon successful completion of the pilot phase, we will work hard to raise the capital needed to move into the full-scale project, where many more resources will be invested into both the production part of the business, but especially the collaboration with authorities and research facilities, in order to continuously improve production techniques and the impact on environment. We believe in improving the quality of life by offering both men and women the possibility to be part of the workforce. Eco Blue Seafood wants to establish a daycare facility locally, making it possible for both men and women to get a job and provide for their family. It is important to us, that we are able to empower women and help inspire to further education through close partnerships with universities and through offering internships for local students.
All in all, Eco Blue Seafood wants to build a healthy business whilst at the same time paying back to the local community and to Mother Nature…pure and simple.
There is no doubt that backing Eco Blue Seafood and our aquaculture project is a matter of wanting to do good in the world or at least help someone else do good in the world. The part of Thailand we are focusing on is experiencing a high level of unemployment in the aquaculture farming industry, primarily due to unfortunate developments in the shrimping business. We want to provide well paid jobs and attractive terms for these unemployed farmers and their families. The reward for backing our project is not a free Mangrove on your dinner plate, but knowing you are backing a business that does good in the world whilst providing a sustainable food source.
On the other hand, we do believe in rewarding people who believe in our dreams and ambitions. So we have decided to offer two different types of rewards:
1. Backers who pledge at least DKK 2,500 will get to go behind the scenes through video material and email updates on project progress.
2. Backers who pledge at least DKK 50,000 will get the opportunity to visit the Eco Blue Seafood site in Thailand, get a guided tour of the facilities and meet the people who are making everything happen.
Budgeting for this type of production is always difficult because there can be unforeseen costs or delays. That is why we have spent a lot of time researching and budgeted costs higher than expected and revenues lower than expected. All risks are business related risks and not risks regarding the sustainable aspects and the wish to do good. There are always risks when dealing with live animals and our project is no exemption. In order to overcome these risks we have teamed up with the best and most experienced local industry people and have strict security and quality measures as part of our setup. We want to be totally honest and let backers know that there is risk that the pilot production will not be a success and that a full-scale setup will not be possible. We will do everything in our power to avoid such an outcome, but it is important that backers are aware of this.