Rich Products will continue to focus on growing sales in its consumer products division, which includes the SeaPak and Morey’s brands, after selling its Morey’s seafood distribution business.
In late December, Rich Products closed on a transaction to sell the distribution component of its Morey’s business – including its facility in Plymouth, Minnesota, U.S.A., – to Eddie M’s, a company led by Jordan Mazzetta, Rich Products Senior Vice President of Category Units Jim Motos told SeafoodSource.
“We were extremely pleased to identify Jordan and Eddie M’s as the next owner of this part of the business, as they not only specialize in the seafood industry, but also have significant direct distribution experience,” Motos said. “Associates working at the Plymouth facility have also transitioned to Eddie M’s with the new ownership, where operations are expected to continue business as usual.”
Mazzetta was also named CEO Hudson Valley Fisheries, which operates a steelhead recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility in Hudson, New York, U.S.A., in early January 2023.
Rich Products continues to own the Morey’s brand and Morey’s Specialty Products Division, along with its production facility based in Motley, Minnesota, according to Motos. The company had SeaPak as its sole seafood brand for years, before it acquired Morey’s Seafood International in 2020.
“That business was really just a natural fit and an extension of what we really live and breathe with the SeaPak brand,” Rich Consumer Brands Division Senior Vice President Shannon Gilreath told SeafoodSource last fall. Morey’s has “tremendous product quality,” according to Gilreath, and the company’s chef-inspired marinades are something SeaPak and Rich’s plans to innovate with as the partnership deepens.
Both the Morey’s and SeaPak brands are well-positioned for sustained growth, despite Covid-19-fueled supply chain challenges and consumers’ inflation concerns, Ciera Womack, director of marketing, Seafood, for Rich’s Consumer Brands Division, told SeafoodSource.
“Over the past five years, the combined businesses are up almost 70 percent, and strategic planning allowed us to manage business challenges throughout the pandemic,” Womack said. “We remain laser-focused on our customers, and, as a result of these initiatives and others, the future of our business is incredibly promising heading into 2023.”
The company is highlighting innovation for both of its seafood brands. Rich Products recently launched SeaPak Budweiser Beer Battered Flounder Strips, the latest in its Budweiser Beer Battered collaboration line.
SeaPak announced in 2019 it had partnered with the Anheuser-Busch-owned brewing company Budweiser on a line of sustainable seafood products. The range includes SeaPak Budweiser Beer Battered Shrimp, SeaPak Budweiser Beer Battered Cod, and SeaPak Budweiser Beer Battered Crab Popper.
“We have a whole portfolio of SeaPak-Budweiser products launching – some are in-market … We are seeing tremendous success with our partnership there. It’s just another way for us to build our portfolio into more value-added breaded products, leveraging this iconic brand in Budweiser,” Gilreath said.
SeaPak is also planning to launch a new garlic-herb flounder in 2023, extending off of Morey’s salmon product lines.
“Innovation has always been one of our core values,” Rich Products’ new chair, Mindy Rich, told SeafoodSource. “One of the principles of that is you have to accept change. You have to embrace change, and you have to drive change. We’ve had that as a part of our culture for years and years – that’s going to continue."
While Rich’s professional management team has been “firefighting and dealing with the supply chain issues and Covid and all of the activities that all of us are dealing with, our team has also been setting then course for the long-term,” Rich said. “We, being a privately-held company, are in it for the long-term and, we look out into the future. And the future for us is driven by our customers, and what our customers need.”
Photo courtesy of Rich Products
