The Kingfish Company has scored a nationwide distribution deal with Whole Foods Market in the United States.
The Kats, the Netherlands-based supplier said its value-added product will be available in Whole Foods stores across the United States starting in mid-April.
The company’s yellowtail kingfish is the first ready-to-eat raw fish product introduced by Whole Foods. The fish, certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices eco-label programs, is free of antibiotics and GMOs.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kingfish is offering a suite of “hi-spec retail-ready” products including skinless, boneless, fixed-weight individually vacuum-packed portions, fresh and sashimi-grade frozen. The supplier also has additional value-added products for retail in “advanced development,” it said in a press release.
Expansion of the company’s Kats recirculating aquaculture system farm – currently at 1,250 metric tons (MT) of annual production – is underway and capacity will reach 3,000 MT in the second half of 2022.
In the U.S., permitting for the company’s 6,000- to 8,000-MT capacity facility is progressing as planned, and production is scheduled to start in the second half of 2023, the company said.
Photo courtesy of The Kingfish Company
