The Malaysian value-added seafood giant is a supplier to many well-known retail and foodservice chains.
A new contract with foodservice giant Sysco for its squid products has opened up the US market for Malaysia’s largest value-added seafood processor, Golden Fresh.
This has positioned the United States more firmly on the company’s list of markets, which is topped by Australia, followed by UK and France.
The new deal adds Sysco to a list of Golden Fresh foodservice customers that includes IKEA, Pizza Express, Qantas, Universal Studios and Disney, along with international retail chains such as Aldi, Coles, Costco, Woolworths, IGA, Aeon, Tesco, Cold Storage and Wellcome.
Over the years, through its global network, Golden Fresh has also supplied products to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the Rugby World Cup and most recently the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast Australia.
Its products were also used in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Leveraging its Malaysian Halal certification, Golden Fresh is also hoping to work closely with the Malaysian Trade Ministry to supply its products to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.
"International events such as these need products that cater to everyone’s needs, and with the growth in wealth in many Muslim countries, Halal products are particularly important if we are looking at reaching this market," CEO Saw Hai Earn told IntraFish. And, despite what he describes as “a difficult market,” the company is aiming for year-on-year double-digit growth with a target of 12,000 metric tons of finished product from its Penang, north Malaysia, factory this year, an 11 percent increase on 2018.
“Bottom line growth is important,” he said.
Part of this growth will come from the company’s ever-expanding line of value-added products, one of which won the company the Seafood Excellence Global prize for Convenience at this year’s European Seafood Exposition in Brussels. Its “Prawn in Hor Mok Thai Coconut Sauce” features shrimp in sauce packed in individual portion bags that can be microwaved, oven baked or pan fried, all from frozen.
“We aim for five to 10 new products each year,” said Saw, who adds that the company’s Salt n’ Pepper Squid is its most popular and long-standing product and is sold around the world.
Sourcing whitefish from the United States, South America and New Zealand and squid from Argentina, Japan and Peru, the company has a diversified supply base.
“Our supply chain is well-managed,” said Saw, which allows the company to better navigate shortages or price squeezes. Its challenges right now, however, come in the form of labor: its factory requires 600 workers, but new international labor laws enforce “many prerequisites,” said Saw.
Brexit also poses a challenge for the company, with the United Kingdom one of its key markets, although Saw frames it with nonchalance: “It is just another thing to overcome,” he said.
https://www.intrafish.com/marketplace/1795242/golden-fresh-expands-in-us-market-with-new-sysco-contract