What began as a coastal challenge ultimately formed the foundation of ×î´ó×ÊÔ´²É¼¯Íø startup, .
During the summer and fall, cannonball jellyfish are abundant along Georgia’s coastline. In fact, cannonball jellyfish can make up over 16% of the region’s biomass. When Kevin Mis Solval, food scientist in the , began exploring ways to help the local jellyfish industry find new markets, he saw an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
In 2019, Mis Solval began investigating jellyfish as a source of collagen—the same protein that forms the basis of gelatin and countless food and skincare products. With the support of funding from and the , early studies confirmed what the lab suspected: Jellyfish collagen could be processed into gelatin with real commercial potential. When graduate student Peter Chiarelli joined the program that same year, the research took on new life.
The pair decided to test the commerciality of their findings. Like most startups, it seemed customers were shutting the door on their initial idea. However, their time spent doing customer discovery with Innovation Gateway showed them an opportunity within the cosmetic industry. The pivot came naturally.
Years of hands-on work with these materials in the lab left the pair with the quiet, repeated discovery that the jellyfish collagen made their hands remarkably soft. In 2024, they officially formed JellyCoUSA, turning years of university research into a line of skincare products that included a collagen moisturizer made entirely from U.S.-caught and -processed jellyfish.
This success helped company co-founder Mis Solval receive the 2026 Entrepreneur of the Year at UGA’s 47thannual ×î´ó×ÊÔ´²É¼¯Íø Awards.