Silver Bay Seafoods has become the latest firm to acquire value-added seafood product-maker Orca Bay Foods.
In a 3 January press release, Silver Bay Seafoods said it had acquired 100 percent of the Renton, Washington, U.S.A.-based food-processing company Orca Bay Foods from Phil Crean. It was the second time Crean had owned Orca Bay – he purchased it back from Sealaska in 2021, which acquired it in 2019 and merged it with Odyssey Foods. Orca Bay had previously been owned by Tokosui, a Japanese firm with a U.S. arm. Sealaska sold Orca Bay after it announced its intention to shift its emphasis to new investments in the chilled retail seafood sector.
“Orca Bay is excited to join Silver Bay Seafoods as we continue our mission of delivering sustainable, delicious, high-quality products,” Crean, who also serves as Orca Bay’s CEO, said in the release. “This partnership will provide a unique opportunity for us to share the extraordinary Silver Bay story and allow fishermen to connect more directly with consumers.”
Under Silver Bay’s ownership, Orca Bay Foods will continue to operate as a separate business, “which has experienced staff and management in place, a well-established brand, and strong distribution channels,” according to Silver Bay President and CEO Cora Campbell. Campbell said the acquisition represented a “significant milestone” for her company, allowing for “a significant expansion of its already vertically integrated structure.”
“This strategic acquisition provides opportunity for our fishermen owners to not only own their own primary processing plant but own the secondary processor, as well. This step allows Silver Bay Seafoods to enter secondary processing with a partner who has decades of experience and demonstrated success,” Campbell said.
Seattle, Washington, U.S.A-based Silver Bay Seafoods has become a major player in the Alaska salmon sector. Founded in 2007 by a group of fishermen in Sitka, Alaska, the company worked to become the top salmon buyer in Alaska through a focus on delivering better value and relationships with local fishermen. It currently operates six high-capacity seafood-processing plants and three other facilities.
Silver Bay Seafoods said in the release it had initiated a working relationship with Orca Bay Foods via a joint venture several years ago.
“Through [the] joint venture, Silver Bay supplies large volumes of seafood and Orca Bay manages secondary processing, sales, and marketing,” the company said. “This deal takes this successful partnership to the next level.”
Orca Bay Foods is known for being an innovator in value-added seafood product development. It runs its operations out of a 77,000-square-foot plant capable of performing custom processing, including large- and small-volume breaded and battered products, filleting, steaks, and portioning of fish. It also offers crab processing, battering and breading of vegetables and meat substitutes, and custom packaging solutions.
“Between its U.S. based manufacturing capacity, a diverse workforce including 500 experienced processing employees, and top-to-bottom emphasis on innovation and customers service, Orca Bay Foods is well-positioned to thrive in the ever-changing marketplace for frozen, breaded, and battered food products,” Crean said in a 2021 release. “It is no secret that being successful in this evolving marketplace requires skilled and motivated people, and the management systems that we have developed are based on providing opportunities for all our people to contribute and share in our success.”
Crean said the company had grown through its previous relationship with Sealaska.
“The involvement of Sealaska in Orca Bay foods supported our growth as we diversified and became the balanced company that we are today,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Orca Bay Foods
