Everything you want in seafood.
Serving delicious animal-free and allergen-friendly seafood products.
Serving delicious animal-free and allergen-friendly seafood products.
Finally — healthy and tasty alternatives for seafood service operators and food enthusiasts alike.
Bayou Best Foods is the source for premium, animal-free shellfish options. From fast food to fine dining, and everything in between, we help meet market demand while reducing the toll on environmental and human health. We have options for all your shrimp needs and welcome the opportunity to develop new products with our customers.
Comparable
Quality taste and texture that diners want.
Available
Year-round supply that food service operators crave.
Dependable
Predictable pricing that distributors and customers desire.
Sustainable
Ingredients and production methods that the planet and people need.
Bayou Best Foods are created in collaboration with acclaimed chefs, culinary experts and food scientists.
With decades of experience in food manufacturing and logistics, we know how to deliver excellence to our customers.
Global demand for seafood has never been higher — and neither have the costs.
Not only is there not enough to feed the global population, but the industry is rife with problems. Overfishing, allergens, mercury, microplastics, fraud, mislabeling, illegal labor practices, bycatch — all wreak havoc on human, animal and environmental health.
Meanwhile, people increasingly demand change.
Younger generations in particular are driving the shift to more animal-free products and sustainable industry practices.
90%
of consumers say they are concerned about seafood sustainability.
50%+
want food and restaurant brands to commit to core ESG values.
50%+
want animal-free options where they already frequent.
How we produce and ship foods that are Bayou Best.
We commercialize a portfolio of mature intellectual property that supports a truly sustainable, animal-free solution to the seafood industry — starting with shrimp.
Production
Sourcing the healthiest and most sustainable raw animal-free ingredients, such as seaweed extract, mung bean proteins, konnyaku rice, etc., combined with natural flavors, we produce premium breaded and unbreaded alternative seafood dishes.
Distribution
Bayou Best Foods leverages the Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) management model, with a special focus on positive impact and growth within rural communities, while partnering with established domestic and international manufacturers and distributors.
News
Big Idea Ventures unveils plant-based seafood co Bayou Best Foods, acquires IP from New Wave Foods
Agrifoodtech investor Big Idea Ventures has launched Bayou Best Foods, a new company in the plant-based seafood space utilizing IP from alt-shrimp startup New Wave Foods, which ceased operations late last year.
Generation Food Rural Partners Launches Bayou Best Foods to Enable Sustainable Seafood Options, Appoints CEO
Bayou Best Foods will develop and manufacture sustainable seafood products.
about
Bayou Best Foods
Bayou Best Foods utilizes proven technology to provide a growing range of delicious animal-free alternatives comparable in taste, texture and performance to animal-based seafood. Our seafood products are allergy friendly, affordable and accessible to mass markets — from fast casual to fine dining restaurants. Bayou Best Foods is dedicated to addressing global food industry and environmental challenges, as well as supporting economic growth in underserved areas.
Kelli Wilson
CEO
Kelli Wilson brings a wealth of experience and a robust background in family farming, agriculture science, and conventional food manufacturing. With a Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from Auburn University, her career encompasses key areas such as manufacturing, regulatory compliance, quality assurance and continuous improvement.
Throughout her 32-year career, including over eight years in executive roles, Kelli has consistently driven success and innovation throughout the entire supply chain. Her tenure with industry giants, such as ConAgra, Niman Ranch and Perdue Farms, has equipped her with the expertise to disrupt existing food markets. Her recent positions, including Global Head of Quality at Beyond Meat, SVP Operations at Partake Foods, and VP Quality at Blue Apron, solidified her reputation as a proven leader and industry expert.
As CEO of Bayou Best Foods, Kelli is focused on operational excellence and building the future of sustainably feeding the world’s population.
partners
About the Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) Fund
Generation Food Rural Partners (“GFRP” or the “Fund”) is a RBIC-licensed investment fund designed to drive economic growth and development in rural communities in the US. The Fund invests in the area of Food, Agriculture and Protein technologies to form new companies based on intellectual property, creating living wage jobs at its portfolio companies.
GFRP is backed by members of the Farm Credit System, including Farm Credit Services of America, CoBank, Compeer Financial and Mid-America Farm Credit. GFRP is a part of Big Idea Ventures, the world’s most active investor in FoodTech, investing in the best food technology and AgriTech companies globally.
Big Idea Ventures has teams in the United States, Europe and Asia and has invested in more than 110 companies across 30 countries.