Ordinary Seafood
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Ordinary Seafood was a German alt-seafood startup founded in 2022 in Potsdam/Berlin by Dr. Anton Pluschke (originally as Numifoods). Taking inspiration from Impossible Foods, it produced affordable plant-based salmon, tuna and shrimp, aiming for cost parity with real fish so sustainable seafood would be accessible to ordinary consumers. Its products 'Ordinary Tuna' and 'Ordinary Smoky Salmon' launched in METRO stores across Germany in November 2023, and it won the University of Potsdam's Guido Reger Founding Prize.
02 / Ordinary Seafood FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Ordinary Seafood ceased operations due to financial difficulties. Despite strong customer feedback, the financing landscape changed dramatically: the startup could not raise follow-on capital and closed down, with PitchBook marking it Out of Business on February 13, 2024.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Dr. Anton Pluschke founded Ordinary Seafood (as Numifoods) in 2022 to build affordable plant-based fish at cost parity with real fish; it closed a $500K seed round in October 2022.
- Retail launch
'Ordinary Tuna' and 'Ordinary Smoky Salmon' launched in METRO stores across Germany in November 2023; the company won the Guido Reger Founding Prize.
- Shutdown
Ordinary Seafood ceased business operations due to financial difficulties; PitchBook recorded the Out of Business event on February 13, 2024.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
The company raised a $500K seed round in October 2022 (PitchBook).
- 02
Founder Anton Pluschke cited a dramatically changed financing landscape as the reason for the shutdown.
- 03
No loss figure was disclosed; PitchBook marks the company Out of Business as of February 13, 2024.