Direct-to-consumer seafood firm Wild Alaskan Company has purchased the Kasilof Buying Station in Kasilof, Alaska, U.S.A., and is planning to make investments to improve facilities at the location.
Wild Alaskan Company was created in 2017 and saw explosive growth amid the Covid-19 pandemic, becoming one of the largest direct-to-consumer brands in the country. As it has grown the company, it has acquired additional resources in order to continue a steady growth trajectory as markets shifted post-pandemic.
The company said it will invest in the Kasilof Buying Station over the next several years in order to add facility upgrades, as well as expand services for fishermen and pursue operational improvements to improve product handling and market access. The investments will help ensure the fishery maintains and grows its value, keeping it economically strong, Wild Alaskan said.
“Growing up in a multigenerational commercial fishing family, I’ve seen how economic pressure shows up first at the dock,” Wild Alaskan Company CEO and Founder Arron Kallenberg said in a release. “This investment reinforces that first link in the value chain – expanding market access for fishermen, preserving quality, and strengthening the connection between local fishing communities and families across the country.”
Kasilof is located in the Cook Inlet, which has the second-largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world. Wild Alaskan Company said it has continued to invest heavily in supply chain infrastructure and technology, and the Kasilof site will serve as a pilot to demonstrate how its integrated technology that improves coordination between the catch and the end consumer can deliver higher value and, thus, strengthen fisheries economically.
“I grew up on the Kenai Peninsula, so this acquisition and what we hope to achieve over the next few years on the Kasilof hold deep personal significance for me,” Kallenberg said. “We’re proud to invest in infrastructure that supports local fishing communities today, strengthens the future of this fishery, and delivers wild-caught Alaskan seafood to tables across the country.”
