Whole Foods Market recognized Pacific Seafood and Atlantic Sea Farms as part of its Supplier All-Star Awards for 2023.
The Austin, Texas, U.S.A.-based operator of around 530 grocery stores also presented the award to 14 other non-seafood brands. All of the winners “exemplify excellence through quality, innovation, value, and sustainability while enhancing the shopping experience in stores across the country and supporting Whole Foods Market’s purpose to nourish people and the planet,” the retailer said.
Pacific Seafood National Sales Account Manager Randall Ferris told SeafoodSource the award is a reflection of the dedication of the supplier’s team members at its aquaculture operations, processing plants, and distribution facilities along the West Coast of the U.S., Canada, as well as the states of Texas and Florida.
“It’s been the greatest privilege to work with Whole Foods teams – both regionally and internationally – to provide the healthiest protein on the planet over the past 10 years,” Ferris said.
Clackamas, Oregon, U.S.A.-based Pacific Seafood supplies a variety of frozen and fresh seafood to Whole Foods, including Alaska halibut, sablefish, U.S. West Coast groundfish, and Columbia River king salmon. It also supplies a variety of live, in-shell oysters and shellfish, Dungeness crab, and its entire line of Starfish breaded and battered seafood.
Additionally, Pacific is Whole Foods’ distribution supplier in the retailer’s Northern California and Southwest regions, including its Austin headquarters.
Whole Foods has also been a champion for Portland, Maine, U.S.A.-based Atlantic Sea Farms in its work “to build an entirely new, regenerative, and equitable kelp aquaculture industry in the U.S.,” according to Atlantic Sea Farms CEO Briana Warner.
“They have been integral to growing our environmental and economic impact to create a more resilient coast here in Maine," Warner told SeafoodSource.
The partnership has made fresh, U.S.-grown kelp available to consumers for the first time, according to Warner, and is now providing value-added kelp products, including the company's Sea-Veggie Burgers, at Whole Foods Market locations nationwide.
