Finland-based aquaculture company Finnforel is debuting its LoHi rainbow trout brand to supermarkets in the United Arab Emirates.
Finnforel launched the rainbow trout brand in 2023 and called it LoHi (pronounced low-high) to emphasize the company’s goals with its product – low carbon emissions and environmental impact paired with high-protein rainbow trout – and as a reference to the Finnish word for salmon: lohi. The company raises the fish in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility that uses a closed loop system that creates minimal waste and low emissions.
Finnforel said the company has launched its LoHi brand in markets in the UAE, with sales starting in LuLu Hypermarket stores in Dubai and additional partnerships with other major supermarket chains that will begin in the coming months.
The debut of the LoHi brand in the UAE follows the company signing an agreement with ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based investment holding company, in November 2024. The agreement centered around exploring the feasibility of building one of Finnforel’s land-based RAS facilities inside the UAE, with an initial projected farming capacity of roughly 3,000 metric tons (MT).
"We don't see ourselves as fish farmers; we are a food tech company," Finnforel CEO Nora Hortling said. "Our mission is to change the way fish gets on our plates globally. Our model is built on technological innovation and total control of the value chain – from fish eggs to final fillet, ensuring premium quality and sustainability from start to finish.”
Hortling said the UAE is the first step for the company’s vision to build a global fish brand based on its sustainable RAS production.
“Even though it is now a cosmopolitan hub in the Gulf, the local cuisine is heavily influenced by its past as a fishing community, and the region’s growing focus on aquaculture innovation makes this market particularly exciting for us,” Hortling said.
