Sanford, New Zealand’s largest seafood company, has announced its plans to invest NZD 20 million (USD 12.8 million, EUR 11.6 million) into a new marine extracts center in Blenheim, New Zealand.
The new center, according to a release from Sanford, will focus “on the discovery and production of high value nutrition products from New Zealand seafood.” The company already produces some extracts from a facility in Blenheim – namely greenshell mussel powder – and the success of the product has led the company to invest further in the extracts market.
“We want to make the best mussel powder in the world and more. The demand for marine extracts is huge and it’s only going to grow,” Sanford Chief Customer Officer Andre Gargiulo said. “Greenshell mussel powder is known for assisting with inflammation management including for athletes, for older people, or for anyone who has been troubled by these types of joint aches and pains. And mussel powder is just the start of what we can do. The plan is to move into mussel oil and look at extracts from marine species other than mussels. There is so much to unlock and we are incredibly excited about the potential.”
The facility, according to Sanford CEO Volker Kuntzsch, is a way to add value to the seafood the company harvests and is a part of its “wider strategy.”
“We are very fortunate to live in a place with an incredible abundance and variety of fish and shellfish on our doorstep,” he said. “At Sanford, we want to create the most out of every bit of this precious resource that we have available.”
In addition to the existing greenshell mussel powder product, the company plans to create other extract-based products at the center. The new facility will be able to create a number of marine extract products, using the latest technology.
“We will be using a state-of-the-art extraction process to make high value Greenshell mussel oil,” said Sanford General Manager of Innovation Andrew Stanley, who will be running the new facility. “The facilities we will build here will also give us the ability to make other fish oils and bioactive extracts.”
The new facility, according to Sanford, will employ more than 40 people. The current plan is to begin construction on the center in April of 2020, with an opening date of early 2021.
Photo courtesy of Sanford.
