Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.-based smoked salmon supplier Acme Smoked Fish is opening a facility in the U.S. state of Florida, which it originally bought in 2022, to effectively address increased demand across the Southeast U.S. – and is also unveiling new products, packaging, and an innovative climate initiative to start out 2024.
The 43,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Pompano Beach, Florida, will significantly enhance the company’s cold smoked salmon production, Acme Co-Owner Adam Caslow told SeafoodSource.
“My family, colleagues, and I are focused on opening up the facility this year and being in a position to add 4 million pounds of cold smoked salmon to our manufacturing capabilities starting this year,” Caslow said.
Acme has already invested USD 20 million (EUR 18 million) in equipment and technology to upgrade a Florida facility that it has owned since 2005, Caslow said, but the new plant will operate as both a manufacturing and distribution center to service the region, where the company provides fresh products to delis, bagel stores, restaurants, supermarkets, and cruise ships.
Acme now operates six manufacturing facilities in total.
Despite a “difficult” 2023 throughout the industry, Caslow said the company continues to see increased demand for smoked salmon across the U.S.
“Luckily for Acme, revenue was up [in 2023], but our volumes decreased similar to industry-wide volumes – down 6 to 7 percent,” he said. “This was largely due to necessary price increases due to the rising cost of goods.”
The industry contracted because the price gap between seafood and other proteins grew too large, Caslow explained.
“As inflation raged on, consumers tightened and seafood became a luxury, not a staple,” he said.
Acme is looking to ...
Photo courtesy of Acme Smoked Fish
