Verlasso – Chilean salmon-farming firm AquaChile’s ultra-premium brand of salmon – will look to expand its sales by about 50 percent this year, having identified significant growth opportunities outside its traditional main market of the U.S.
“Verlasso has existed for about 15 years or so, and from 2020 to 2022, about 98 percent of Verlasso products were sold in the U.S. That came down to 90 percent in 2024, and this year, it will be 80 percent to 82 percent,” Verlasso Brand Manager Martin Cox told SeafoodSource. “The most competitive new markets for us are in Southeast Asia; we’re putting lots of effort there because it’s a place where lots of tourists go, with lots of important hotels and restaurants. They can’t compromise on the quality of their products, so they prefer Verlasso over other brands. We know it takes time to get salmon into the markets of Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, but they are willing to wait a few days to get our Patagonian salmon because they love our product and need to provide that quality to their customers.”
Asia has also been a large market for AquaChile, which is Verlasso’s parent company, but it is still relatively small for Verlasso, Cox said, noting that for the luxury salmon brand, China and Southeast Asia have expanded 100 to 150 percent every year for the last three to four years.
In the U.S., Verlasso has leaned on event-focused marketing – being the salmon sponsor for large-scale events such as F1, the Super Bowl, and the Miami Open – while in Southeast Asia, the approach has been more organic, Cox said.
The varying approaches to different markets has helped Verlasso realize explosive growth over the last five years, having sold 4,000 metric tons (MT) whole fish equivalent (WFE) in 2020, which spiked to 13,000 MT WFE in 2024; the expectation this year is to sell 21,000 MT.
“We’ve improved what we’re doing in the water, and we can sell more Verlasso. We’ve added technology and done everything needed to have the perfect fish – 365 days of the year. Our customers want more Verlasso, and we can provide that,” Cox said.
While Verlasso looks to expand in other markets, the U.S. still represents the lion’s share of its sales, and the global import tariffs recently implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump will require Verlasso to strategize accordingly, Cox said.
“U.S. tariffs will be part of the conversation with the clients,” he said. “There’s a 10 percent [import] tariff for Chile, but it’s [more] for Europe. Our fish will be more expensive and we’ll assume some of those costs, but it’s worse for Europe. We need to see what will happen for the rest of the year, and what Trump will decide in the next two to three months.”
As evidence of its continued commitment to the U.S. market, Cox pointed to AquaChile’s sizeable branch recently opened in Miami, Florida, with a team of more than 80 people, sales and administration offices, loading and unloading areas, fresh product storage, and a processing space.
“We’re putting our money on Miami and the U.S. market,” he said.
The focus will continue to be on the hotel, restaurant, and catering (HORECA) segment. Cox noted that Verlasso has begun to partner with supermarkets – including the Hy-Vee chain of supermarkets in the Midwest and South, getting Verlasso into more than 200 stores.
“If we can communicate all that we do to the right people and in the right places, we’ll have a good opportunity in the supermarket industry to reach the final consumer, getting more direct sales than what we do now,” he said. “We will look to mostly develop the HORECA segment, but we’re developing new markets and trying new products. We’ve been present in the U.S. for the last 15 years, and we know we still have a lot to grow there.”
