Deniz Ficicioglu is the co-founder and CEO of Wunderfish, the female-led company behind BettaF!sh, Europe’s leading seaweed-based alt-fish brand. Based in Berlin, Deniz has built a mission-driven business that transforms one of the ocean’s most abundant resources—seaweed—into delicious plant-based alternatives to tuna, salmon, and other seafood. Under her leadership, BettaF!sh has won international recognition for pioneering products that reduce pressure on wild fish stocks while creating new markets for sustainable seaweed farming.

True to her name—Deniz means “the sea” in Turkish—she has dedicated her career to unlocking the potential of the ocean’s most regenerative resource. With more than 15 years of experience in the food industry and as the author of two cookbooks, she bridges culinary creativity with systemic innovation. She has created massive awareness for seaweed as a raw material and for plant-based fish alternatives, inspiring more people to discover its value. Her vision is to generate systemic positive impact through seaweed farming: valorizing the raw material, supporting coastal livelihoods, and demonstrating to the food industry that seaweed can power entirely new categories of delicious, sustainable products. For her leadership, she was recognized with the EIT Women Leadership Award 2024 and nominated as Impact Entrepreneur of the Year 2025.

Anchoring the Future: Seaweed at the Heart of Coastal and Food Innovation

Anchoring the Future:Seaweed at the Heart of Coastal and Food Innovation shares a personal journey into how overlooked ocean resources can help transform food security and coastal resilience. Seaweed is crucial to the future of food, yet underused. Female-led, yet overlooked. Regenerative by nature, yet still missing real innovation in value creation. In this talk, I will share what I’ve learned from seaweed communities in Europe: their approaches, their passion, and the untapped opportunities waiting to be unlocked. I’ll also show how we’re using seaweed as a “Trojan horse” for change through our award-winning BettaF!sh products and new ingredient developments that bring the ocean into everyday food. The future of coastal communities lies in building these missing links and expanding the boundaries of the blue economy together.

Anchoring the Future: Seaweed at the Heart of Coastal and Food Innovation

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