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.
Scaled on investor money before unit economics worked: three rounds totalling €3.5M funded a DTC model that never reached profit, a cash burn with no margin floor.
Project Lobster scaled on investor money before its unit economics worked: three rounds totalling €3.5M funded a DTC model that never reached profit, a cash burn with no margin floor.
The international push produced revenue, not profit: 80% of sales were e-commerce shipped to Latin America, the US and Australia, low-margin distribution, not a lasting return.
The subscription pivot came too late: the 2024 membership model was a loyalty patch, not a fix, and the first profitable year it was meant to deliver never arrived before the cash ran out.
A DTC business that reaches 80% of its revenue abroad and still loses money is a distribution exercise, not a company — Project Lobster's subscription pivot came after the funding was spent.
Project Lobster dissolved in early 2026 after filing for voluntary creditor proceedings in November 2025 before the Commercial Court of Barcelona number 7. The Borme registry recorded the liquidation and the revocation of co-founders Óscar Valledor and Daniel Prats as administrators. In February 2026 Ace & Tate acquired the brand's productive unit through the proceedings, taking over five of its seven stores in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, which continued under Ace & Tate's operation. The deal's financial terms were not disclosed.
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