Project Lobster raised €3.5M and never turned a profit — liquidated in 2026

Project Lobster launched in 2018 in Barcelona as a digital-native optical chain, founded by Óscar Valledor with €40,000 of initial capital and support from the Lanzadera accelerator. It positioned itself as a direct-to-consumer disruptor of the traditional optical industry, selling eyewear priced between €190 and €310.

The growth was funded by investors, not customers. Three funding rounds since 2018 brought in €300,000, then €1.2 million, then €2 million in May 2023 led by Dozen Investments and Avança, the Catalan government's investment company. International expansion began in 2022 into Latin America, the United States and Australia via e-commerce, and by then international markets accounted for 80% of revenue. The brand grew to seven stores — four in Barcelona, two in Madrid and one in Valencia.

Revenue never turned into profit. In 2023, its last year with reported data, Project Lobster took in €2.5 million. In 2024 it tried a monthly subscription model to boost customer loyalty and aimed for its first positive net result in 2025 — which never materialised.

The company filed for voluntary creditor proceedings (concurso voluntario de acreedores) at the end of November 2025 before the Commercial Court of Barcelona number 7, and entered liquidation in February 2026. Ace & Tate, the Dutch eyewear group, bought Project Lobster's productive unit through the bankruptcy procedure, taking over five of the seven stores in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.