Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods (COSFF) and Northern Wind, Inc. have entered into a marketing agreement to source and distribute frozen scallops globally. The companies will work together to provide customers with high quality, responsibly sourced frozen scallops.
New Bedford, Massachusetts-based Northern Wind is one of the largest scallop producers in the United States with contracted vessels harvesting an estimated 20 percent of the allowable catch along the eastern seaboard. Its MSC-certified facilities and production capacity provide a platform for significant growth when partnered with El Segundo, California-headquartered COSFF’s nationally recognized brand and infrastructure.
George Kouri, co-chief executive officer of Northern Wind, stated: “We look forward to working with the team at Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods to broaden our distribution and support sales. This association should benefit our customer partners as we maximize our strengths across all trade channels.”
Bryan Rosenberg, chief executive officer of Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, commented: “We are excited about the opportunity to combine Northern Wind’s expertise and sustainability footprint with our distribution network. The two companies are well positioned to further develop this important category.”
Suppliers and customers will continue to interact with their Northern Wind and COSFF contacts as they have done in the past.
“Through this new partnership, we will build on the leadership position that Northern Wind has developed over the past 30 years, to the benefit of all customers,” said Ken Melanson, chairman of Northern Wind.
About Northern Wind
Northern Wind Inc. was founded in 1987 as a direct off-loader, processor, and distributor of fresh and frozen scallops. The company has 100 full-time employees and operates a 150,000-square-foot BRC-certified facility on the waterfront in New Bedford.
About COSFF
As part of the Thai Union Group since 2006, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods has utilized the Bangkok-headquartered parent’s vertical integration platform to market fully-traceable perishable seafood throughout North America. Today, the company leads US imports of farm-raised frozen shrimp, pasteurized crabmeat, and distribution of North Atlantic lobster. COSFF’s family of brands, including Xcellent, Asian Gold, Orion, Van Camp and Chicken of the Sea, are available in club stores and other retail and wholesale outlets, and are served at national restaurants chains as well as in other foodservice outlets.
According to the “Top 25 North American Seafood Suppliers” list compiled by SeafoodSource.com, Chicken of the Sea ranks No. 1 with US $1.28 billion in annual sales. “This is in no small part due to a rapidly growing frozen foods division that was founded less than a decade ago,” it reported.
