While Everyone Else Saw a Parasite, This Man Saw a Marketable Product One entrepreneur aims to transform the sea snails that have overrun the waters in his fishing town from pest to delicacy.

By Laura Entis

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

It may be known as the "oyster capital of Brittany," but Cancale, France, is teeming with sea snails. Despite efforts by local authorities to quash their numbers -- popular tactics include crushing and boiling -- Cancale's sea snail population continues to grow by 10 percent a year.

It's not just that they're ugly (although with ragged brown shells and slimy orange flesh, few would find them attractive); the real issue is that the snails feed by latching onto oysters and mussels, crippling their growth. This, in turn, hurts local fishermen and seafood producers whose livelihood depends on their oyster and mussel yield.

While everyone else saw a parasite, local entrepreneur Pierrick Clément chose to, as the Red Lobster campaign goes, "sea food differently."

"As a businessman, I see an opportunity here," he told the New York Times.

Related: How This Company Is Looking to Rebrand a Whole City

Clément had never considered eating the ubiquitous sea snails until he stumbled upon a mechanism that could crack open their shells on a large scale without compromising the flesh, The New York Times reported. But in that discovery, he immediately recognized an opportunity. While the sea snails (also known as Atlantic slipper shells) aren't pretty to look at, their taste is somewhat comparable to mussels. Thought Clément, why not rebrand the sea snail as desirable culinary treat?

He now has a pilot factory, and is distributing packages of frozen sea snails to stores and restaurants. But the repurposing doesn't stop there: Clément wants to use the calcium-packed sea snail shells both as construction material and as an agent to counteract the acidic soil conditions on the French coast.

This isn't the first time Clément has refused to let a national culinary stereotypes cloud his ability to detect a business opportunity. According to the Times, he made a considerable amount of money "exporting halal foie gras and unwanted duck parts that are delicacies in China."

While he plans on selling the majority of his sea snails to American, Japanese and Chinese markets, where the prejudice against Atlantic slipper shells is less intense, he hopes that one day the French will be able to view the slippery sea snails with hunger, instead of disgust.

Related: Chipotle's Brilliant Branding Move

It's not an unprecedented occurrence. Consider the lobster. Once viewed with disdain -- in parts of New England, serving lobster to prison inmates more than once a week was considered cruel and unusual punishment– the lobster was successfully rebranded as a luxury item in the 20th century.

Looks-wise, the two sea creatures are comparable. Lobsters look cockroach-y, sea snails look…well, sea snail-y. And Clément, in his quest to redefine the sea snail in the eyes of his fellow citizens, has some tricks up his sleeve, including the promotional help of Gaël Orieux, the owner of Auguste in Paris who regularly incorporates sea snails into his dishes.

"It tastes like seawater but is also a bit sweet," Orieux told the Times.

After all, if the lobster could molt from a marker of poverty to a marker of wealth, is it that outrageous for Clément's sea snails to make the transformation from parasite to delicacy?

Related: A Restaurant Built (and Rebuilt) With Customer Loyalty

Laura Entis is a reporter for Fortune.com's Venture section.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Innovation

4 Ways Market Leaders Use Innovation to Foster Business Growth

Forward-thinkers constantly strive to diversify and streamline their products and services, turning novelties into commodities desired by many.

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Side Hustle

'Hustling Since Middle School': She Started a Side Hustle on Facebook Marketplace — Then a 'Game-Changer' Grew It to $25,000 a Month

Leena Pettigrew's "entrepreneurial spirit" inspired her to build a business with earnings that outpaced her full-time income.

Business News

'I Want the Best People on Our Teams': Meta Is Laying Off More Than 3,000, CEO Mark Zuckerberg Calls for 'Extensive Performance-Based Cuts' — Read the Memo

In an internal memo shared on Tuesday, Zuckerberg said it's "going to be an intense year" at the company.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Leadership

From Elite Athletes to Tech Titans — Discover the Surprising $100-Million Habit That Leads to Extraordinary Success

Success comes from mastering focus, eliminating distractions and prioritizing what truly matters.