Fishwife
In lockdown, Becca Millstein noticed the fancy tinned fish everyone was obsessed with was all European. None of the cool brands were American, so she and a friend built one and rebranded a whole category.
In the middle of the 2020 lockdown, Becca Millstein noticed something odd about the fancy tinned fish suddenly all over the internet: it was all European. None of the cool, high-quality tinned-seafood brands were American. A former music-industry worker, she teamed up with a TV-writer friend and set out to change that, and ended up making canned fish a hot-girl food.
Millstein and Caroline Goldfarb launched Fishwife in December 2020, selling ethically sourced, upscale tinned seafood, smoked rainbow trout, salmon, sardines, in bright, whimsically illustrated tins that looked nothing like the dusty, depression-era cans they replaced. They rebranded an entire category, grew Fishwife into a multimillion-dollar business, and landed it in Whole Foods.
At a glance:
| Founded | December 2020, by Becca Millstein and Caroline Goldfarb |
| Founders’ background | Music industry (Millstein) and TV writing (Goldfarb) |
| Product | Ethically sourced, premium tinned seafood |
| Signature | Smoked rainbow trout, in illustrated tins |
| Scale | Grew to a multimillion-dollar business (~$6M+) |
| Retail | DTC, then Whole Foods and beyond |
The Story
The observation in lockdown
The idea started during the 2020 quarantine, when tinned fish was having a moment online as a chic, easy pantry indulgence. Millstein, then working in the music industry, made a sharp observation: all the high-quality, aspirational tinned-seafood brands people were drooling over were European, mostly Spanish and Portuguese conservas. There was no American brand doing it, and she decided to build one.
From music and TV to fish
Millstein teamed up with her friend Caroline Goldfarb, a TV writer, and the two launched Fishwife in December 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Neither came from the seafood industry, and that outsider’s eye is part of what let them see the category as a design and branding opportunity rather than a commodity to compete on price.
Rebranding a depression-era commodity
Millstein’s insight was that tinned fish was already an incredible product, clean ingredients, genuinely healthy, sustainable, that had been “molded into this depression-era commodity food.” Fishwife kept the quality and changed everything else: bright, whimsically illustrated tins, playful flavors, and an aesthetic that made canned fish look like something you’d want on your shelf and your Instagram, not hidden in the back of a cupboard.
Making tinned fish “hot girl food”
It worked almost immediately. Fishwife became a hit with media and online tastemakers from the moment it launched, turning tinned fish into a genuinely cool, aspirational product, “hot girl food.” From a direct-to-consumer start, it expanded into Whole Foods and grew into a multimillion-dollar brand, leading a category it helped make cool in America.
The Strategy
Aesthetics as the product
Fishwife’s core move was design. The seafood was excellent, but the illustrated tins and vibrant branding are what made it a phenomenon. In a commodity category, turning the packaging into the reason to buy transformed a cheap staple into a premium, giftable, shareable object, and let it command a premium price.
Reframe the category
Fishwife didn’t invent tinned fish, it reframed it, from a dusty pantry afterthought into a clean, healthy, aspirational treat. Repositioning an existing product as something more desirable, without changing what’s inside, is one of the most efficient ways to build a brand, because the demand was already latent.
Ride and lead a cultural trend
Fishwife launched as tinned fish was becoming a genuine trend, and then helped drive it. Being early to a rising cultural moment, and giving it an American brand to rally around, let Fishwife capture attention and shelf space that later entrants had to fight for. Timing into a swelling trend is a real advantage.
The Marketing
The branding is the marketing
Fishwife’s illustrated tins are inherently photogenic and shareable, which turned every customer and every media feature into free advertising. When a product looks this good, people post it, gift it, and talk about it, generating earned attention that a commodity food could never buy outright.
Cultural positioning over category claims
Rather than compete on fishy specifics, Fishwife positioned itself culturally, cool, fun, aesthetic, “hot girl food”, which is what made it resonate with media elites and internet tastemakers. Selling a feeling and an identity, not just a can of fish, is what lifted it above the category.
Controversies
The co-founder split
Fishwife’s success came alongside a hard lesson in partnership. Co-founders Becca Millstein and Caroline Goldfarb split, and the falling-out reportedly escalated into a legal dispute. It’s a common and painful startup story: a business can take off while the founding relationship behind it comes apart, which is exactly why clear operating agreements and defined roles matter before success raises the stakes.
The Numbers
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| April 2020 | The idea forms during quarantine |
| December 2020 | Fishwife launches DTC |
| 2020s | Becomes a media and internet hit; enters Whole Foods |
| Ongoing | Grows into a multimillion-dollar business (~$6M+) |
Fishwife is privately held, and reporting has pegged it as a multimillion-dollar business built in just a few years. Its bigger impact is cultural: it helped turn tinned fish from a commodity into a trend, and proved that design and positioning can build a brand in a category everyone assumed was finished.
What You Can Learn
Design can rebrand an entire category. Fishwife changed almost nothing about tinned fish except how it looked and felt, and built a phenomenon. In a commodity space, making the packaging the reason to buy is a powerful, underused strategy.
Reframe, don’t reinvent. The product already existed and was already good. Fishwife just repositioned it as aspirational. Repositioning a latent-demand product is often faster and cheaper than inventing something new.
Ride a rising trend early. Fishwife launched as tinned fish was taking off and helped lead the wave. Being early to a swelling cultural moment, with a brand people can rally around, captures attention later entrants can’t.
Protect the founding relationship. Fishwife thrived while its co-founders split. Success raises the stakes on every partnership, so clear roles, ownership, and agreements up front are not paperwork, they’re protection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who founded Fishwife?
Fishwife was co-founded in December 2020 by Becca Millstein, who came from the music industry and serves as CEO, and Caroline Goldfarb, a TV writer. The idea originated during the 2020 pandemic quarantine.
What is Fishwife known for?
Fishwife is known for premium, ethically sourced tinned seafood, especially its smoked rainbow trout, sold in bright, whimsically illustrated tins. It helped make tinned fish a cool, aspirational food in America.
How big is Fishwife?
Fishwife grew into a multimillion-dollar business within a few years, expanding from direct-to-consumer into retailers like Whole Foods. Exact revenue isn’t public, but reporting has placed it in the multimillion-dollar range.
What happened between Fishwife’s founders?
Co-founders Becca Millstein and Caroline Goldfarb split as the company grew, and the falling-out reportedly led to a legal dispute, a reminder of how founding partnerships can fracture even as a business succeeds.
Sources
- Eater, “How Becca Millstein Founded Fishwife and Made Tinned Fish Cool in America”. The lockdown observation, founders, and 2020 launch.
- Forbes, “How Fishwife’s Becca Millstein Made Tinned Fish Cool”. Reframing a “depression-era commodity” and the aesthetics-first strategy.
- Ad Age, “Fishwife enters Whole Foods: DTC tinned fish brand CEO discusses growth”. Retail expansion into Whole Foods.
- Business Insider, “How Fishwife’s founders made tinned fish ‘hot girl food’ and then broke up,” 2024. The co-founder split and legal dispute.