The Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group (SSMG) scooped the Aquaculture Seafood Product of the Year Award at the Scottish Marine Aquaculture Awards, held in Edinburgh.
SSMG won the award for its new range of mussel ready meals developed for the discount retailer Lidl, comprising Deluxe Scottish Mussels in Tomato & Chorizo Sauce, Scottish Cooked Mussels in Black Bean Sauce and Scottish Cooked Mussel & Clams in Thai Sauce.
The products have enjoyed strong consumer demand and were developed to coincide with themed sales periods for Lidl. The award judges were impressed by the imagination and skill used in developing the product range.
“We are delighted that our innovation in new product development has been recognized in this way. This award is testament to the hard work of all our employees and underlines the growing importance of the Scottish farmed shellfish sector as a provider of sustainable, nutritious and tasty food,” said Stephen Cameron, managing director of SSMG.
Organized by the Crown Estate, The Scottish Aquaculture Awards are held every two years to match the industry’s production cycles and development of new products and initiatives.
Scottish aquaculture is currently worth more than GBP 1.7 billion (EUR 2.3 billion/USD 2.6 billion) to the U.K. economy and is forecast to grow to GBP 2 billion (EUR 2.8 billion; USD 3.1 billion) by 2020.
The other award recipients this year were:
- Farm Manager of the Year – Rosie Curtis, Marine Harvest (Scotland) Ltd.
- Aquaculture Supplier of the Year – AKVA Group Scotland Ltd.
- Outstanding Contribution to Industry – Guy Mace
- Community Initiative – Seafood Shetland “So Much to Sea”
- Stewardship Award – joint winners Marine Harvest (Scotland) Ltd. & Scottish Sea Farms Ltd. “Wrasse – A Collaborative Approach to an Industry Challenge”
- Business Development Award – Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Ltd. Furnace Smolt Unit
- Innovation Award – Mara Seaweed
- Best Aquaculture Company – Scottish Sea Farms Ltd.
