AKUA is raising on Republic through Crowd SAFE at a $16 million valuation. This is lower than companies from various industries raising online with a similar revenue of around $500,000, with an average valuation of $21.9 million. However, AKUA’s revenue-to-valuation multiple of 30x is higher than the median multiple of 13x in the food industry. Additionally, the company has no specific patents or assets to justify this valuation. Overall, AKUA is slightly overvalued.

Investors backing the company at this valuation still have a chance to see the company give them a 10x return on their investment. Indeed, acquisitions in the meat alternative space range from $8 million to $10 billion. Therefore, AKUA will have to grow its annual revenue to a minimum of $15-20 million and strengthen its branding to get a chance to exit at a valuation giving a great return to investors.

The meat-alternative market is highly competitive and crowded. There are at least 800 brands in the world selling plant-based meat alternatives, including 60 brands with more than $500,000+ in sales in the US. This market is not a winner-take-it-all space. Small brands can make it and acquire customers interested in “alternative” and “healthy” options.

Indeed, 10-15% of Americans identify as vegetarian or vegan in the US. Omnivores and flexitarians also consume plant-based meat alternatives. All these consumers are looking for products with great tastes, but many are fine eating meat alternatives that do not look like meat. The market is still growing, but it is not benefiting from the hype of the last couple of years anymore when plant-based meat alternatives were often present in the media, and many customers tried these products for the first time.

Courtney Boyd Myers is the CEO and founder of AKUA. She previously launched an accelerator program between London and New York. Then, she launched a non-profit related to seaweed where she had the time to understand the algae supply chain in Massachusetts. This helped her launch AKUA.

I had the chance to talk with Courtney and understand she is a scrappy founder. She didn’t pay herself for the first three years of her business, and she doesn’t hesitate to go above and beyond to acquire customers. She recently drove to dozens of restaurants in Long Island over the weekend to distribute samples and called restaurants back the following Monday to try to get sales. It’s reassuring for investors to know that Courtney is innovative and can work hard to get the startup’s product to potential customers. She has the skills needed for any entrepreneur innovating in the crowded meat alternative market.

The rest of AKUA’s team is great for this type of business, with mostly marketing and operations employees. This is both what this company needs and explains its high $120-150k burn rate.

AKUA is the only algae-based meat alternative in the United States today. Lacking direct competitors is both an advantage and an inconvenience for the company. It is a positive thing that it can drive interest and curiosity from new adopters. The lack of competition will prevent AKUA’s customers from switching to another brand. On the other hand, it also means that most customers have never heard of algae-based meat alternatives. AKUA will have to convince stores to sell its products and educate customers who may or may notalready incorporate algae in their diet. This can mean that AKUA will have to spend more on marketing than other brands to acquire customers. It can also slow its revenue growth.

AKUA’s products contain simple and recognizable ingredients that give it an advantage over the competition as it has a lower fat amount and a healthier composition. AKUA is also different from many competitors as it offers crab cakes, ground meat and burger patties, so it plays both on the meat and seafood alternative sides. AKUA’s crab cakes cost $4.99 for 6 oz. This is more expensive than Omni’s vegan crab cakes at $2.29 for 5.29 oz but cheaper than Mind Blown $12.99 crab cakes for 6 oz. On the burger side, at $4.5 per burger patty, AKUA’s burgers are about twice more expensive than Beyond’s meat-imitation patties. The company’s high-priced products target an educated population that not only knows about meat alternatives but also knows about seaweed and its benefits.

AKUA’s revenue grew 12.8% between 2021 and 2022, from $450,940 to $508,885. This seems small at first, but it is expected that AKUA’s innovative product will take time to sell. The US seaweed market is only worth $11 million and growing at a 4.7% CAGR. This means that AKUA itself added about +5% of the US seaweed consumption by using it in meat alternatives.

The company also closed a partnership with Nickelodeon to use Sponge Bob on its kids-targeted product’s packages. It is a very smart move. Sponge Bob’s brand will be easily recognized by shoppers and help get the AKUA brand known. It will bring trust from shoppers and desire to try the product. Kids may even push parents to buy, and the familiarity will make parents feel “safe” about giving a new product and an alternative meat to their kids.

Investing in AKUA involves a few risks. The company’s revenue grew slowly last year. This brings an adoption risk in the American market. The company also wants to grow in Asia in the near future. This will involve additional spending and risks. Will AKUA succeed in launching an American product in countries where seaweed is already a common product? This will depend on the quality of the partnerships it could tie with local brands and distributors.

AKUA also has financial risk. The company burned around $2 million last year. Even though Courtney assured us that the company reduced its burn, AKUA still relies heavily on external funding.

AKUA is a unique product in the American market. While it could be difficult to sell, AKUA found the right strategy by associating its brand with the Nickolodeon’s Sponge Bob SquarePants brand. It is relevant to attract families and help customers make purchase decisions in stores.

AKUA’s product is in line with the current trends of vegan and healthy foods that are growing in the United States, especially among younger generations. The company’s founder and CEO, Courtney Boyd Meyers, is scrappy and has a good understanding of the seaweed supply chain in Massachusetts. At a $16 million valuation cap, investors have a chance to get a return on their investment since acquisitions in the meat alternative space range from $8 million to $10 billion.

It’s not too late for investors who want to invest in the alternative meat space. The market is still growing at a 23.9% annual rate. AKUA is the opportunity to back a startup with a different recipe. While this new idea presents adoption risk, if it works, it could bring higher returns to investors than a plant-based meat alternative company struggling to achieve differentiation. AKUA’s partnership with Nickelodeon could help it target customers beyond the vegetarian and vegan niches. The scrappiness of Courtney Boyd Meyers is also an asset. Last but not least, AKUA patties are delicious. And I’m sure that Mr. Krab would make even more money if he started selling them in his Bikini Bottom fast food.