Blue Products 3.0 – New Product Development Programme second phase

New value from Finnish fish through products and technologies

Project Duration

1.7.2026 – 31.12.2028

Source of Funding

European Maritime, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF)

Total Funding

€2,082,871.10

Blue Products 3.0 develops new products, processing technologies and value-added solutions from Finnish fish, underutilised fish species and fish-processing side streams. The programme brings together research organisations, companies and other stakeholders to improve fish quality, develop new food products and production methods, support commercialisation and strengthen the competitiveness of the Finnish fisheries sector.

Creating more value from Finnish fish

Blue Products 3.0 continues long-term research and development aimed at increasing the value of Finnish fish and strengthening the competitiveness of the domestic fisheries sector. The programme promotes more diverse and sustainable use of Finnish fish raw materials, particularly underutilised fish species and fish-processing side streams. It supports the development of new foods, value-added products and production technologies and helps move promising research results towards practical applications and commercial use.

The programme brings together research organisations, companies and other fisheries-sector stakeholders. The consortium combines expertise in microbiology, chemical analysis, sensory evaluation, consumer research, food technology, product development and pilot-scale processing. This multidisciplinary cooperation helps transfer research results into practical solutions across the fish value chain.

What the programme does

Blue Products 3.0 is organised around five focus areas:

1. improving fish quality throughout the value chain,
2. supporting product development and new process methods,
3. accelerating the commercialisation of valuable fish fractions,
4. strengthening network-based cooperation, and
5. preparing new national and international research and innovation projects.

The programme develops and tests methods that improve fish quality, shelf life, processing efficiency and resource use. It also develops new product concepts from underutilised fish species, fish-processing side streams and other domestic fish raw materials. Technologies including fermentation, extrusion and food 3D printing are studied with companies and other users, with the aim of moving promising solutions towards pilot and practical applications. Turku University of Applied Sciences contributes to both fish-quality monitoring and new processing and product-development activities.

In Focus Area 1, TUAS participates with the University of Turku in developing and validating a machine-learning-based sensor for monitoring fish quality. The system detects volatile compounds formed during fish spoilage and uses machine-learning methods to assess freshness and deterioration. The aim is to develop the method towards a prototype suitable for monitoring critical quality points in real fish value chains.

TUAS also coordinates Focus Area 2, which focuses on new processing methods and product development. One main research theme is the use of food 3D printing as an extrusion-based structuring technology for producing fillet-like fish products. The work examines the suitability of different fish raw materials and formulations, printability, formation and stability of fillet-like structures, sensory quality and the potential of the technology for developing new products from Finnish fish resources.

Consumer research supports this work by examining how product structure, processing technology and raw-material origin influence perceived naturalness, familiarity and acceptability. The aim is to understand how product design can support wider use of domestic and underutilised fish resources.

Results for companies and other users

Blue Products 3.0 produces new product concepts, processing methods, intermediate products and practical knowledge for the Finnish fish sector. The programme supports more efficient use of underutilised fish resources and side streams, improves the quality and processing of fish raw materials and helps promising technologies and products move closer to commercial use.

In the longer term, the programme aims to strengthen domestic fish value chains, create new business opportunities and increase the use and value of Finnish fish. The results, expertise and cooperation networks created during the programme also provide a basis for new national and international research and development projects.

Who the programme is for

The main target groups include fishers and fish producers, fish-processing and marketing companies, food-sector SMEs, companies using fish fractions and side streams, professional kitchens and food services, retail operators, and research and development organisations. Companies and other users are involved in development and piloting so that the resulting technologies, products and knowledge respond to practical needs.

Blue Products 3.0 is implemented by a consortium coordinated by Aktion Österbotten and Österbottens Fiskarförbund together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the University of Turku, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk) and Turku University of Applied Sciences. The programme is funded by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), and its second phase runs until the end of 2028.