Toppits leaves suppliers in lurch after bankruptcy filing, sale to Export Packers

Brampton, Ontario, Canada-based seafood supplier and value-added processor Toppits Foods has declared bankruptcy and owes more than CAD 20 million (USD 15 million, EUR 13.5 million) to its creditors.

Its 14 May bankruptcy filing lists 95 entities to which it owes money, including some seafood suppliers that have not been paid for their shipments. The company reported just CAD 6,000 (USD 4,400, EUR 4,000) in assets in its bankruptcy filing, having sold its processing and manufacturing operations and intellectual property to Export Packers, a seafood wholesaler and processor also based in Brampton. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

In an email to suppliers, Export Packers Senior Vice President of the Domestic Protein Division Arjen Melis said it acquired Toppits’ business and assets on 10 May. However, any transactions which occurred on 9 May or prior to that date are governed by agreements suppliers had with Toppits, according to Melis.

“Any transactions occurring on 10 May or onward will be governed by agreements you have with Export Packers,” Melis wrote.

Export Packers’ acquisition will “complement and expand our portfolio of seafood products and will enable us to offer our customers high-quality, value-added seafood products which are produced right here in Canada,” Export Packers CEO Dan LeBlanc said. “It also aligns with our vision to expand our value-added seafood product offerings and our domestic production capabilities at a modern plant that produces high-quality products.”

Export Packers intends to fuel ongoing growth in the value-added seafood category through further investment and innovation, according to Melis. Export Packers supplies seafood products to retailer, foodservice and further processor businesses across the country under the Ocean Jewel, Diamond Harvest, Ocean Dragon, Green Ocean, and Red Samurai brands. Toppits' value-added manufacturing facility, which was expanded in 2022 with funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, is located across the street from Export Packers’ existing fresh fish processing plant in Brampton. 

“This acquisition will complement and expand our portfolio of seafood products and will enable us to offer our customers high-quality, value-added seafood products which are produced right here in Canada” Export Packers CEO Dan LeBlanc said in a press release. “It also aligns with our vision to expand our value- added seafood product offerings and our domestic production capabilities at a modern plant that produces high quality products”. 

Phone calls to Toppits’ office went unanswered, and SeafoodSource was unable to reach anyone at the firm for comment.

One of the seafood suppliers that has not been paid by Toppits is ...