Pulilan, Philippines-based Fisherfarms is doubling down on value-added products as it seeks to avoid the volatility of the commodity market.
Fisherfarms CEO Imelda J. Madarang told SeafoodSource during Seafood Expo Global – which took place from 25 to 27 April in Barcelona, Spain – that the company has continued with its value-added strategy it launched in 2018. Since that time, the company has begun producing shrimp products in addition to its milkfish products to diversify its product lines.
Madarang said its milkfish producers had success, but in limited markets. Fisherfarms continues to work on finding formats that will give it a broader reach with its milkfish sales, but added shrimp products as a means of diversification.
“It was difficult going to the mainstream [with milkfish], because it’s an unknown species,” she said.
In examining how best to enter the shrimp market, Madarang said, the company quickly realized that trying to make a start in commodity shrimp would be difficult. Margins are low and the variability of the stock – which can be influenced by weather and disease – make it difficult to make money if anything goes wrong, Madarang said.
“We thought again of coming up with something that would stabilize all of this volatility, and also make sure we had something that would have a good margin,” she said. “With the shrimp we have to be different, because it’s much in demand, but it’s a commodity.”
The end result of that process was the creation of a number of value-added shrimp products, including a Seafood Excellence Global Awards finalist: Fisherfarms Corn & Coconut Breaded Shrimp.
Madarang said the product came about as the company sought to “make something different” than the standard coconut shrimp. Coconut and corn, she said, are both stable commodities, adding to the products value.
The product also earned three stars from the Belgium-based Superior Taste Award – a taste certification run by the International Taste Institute.
The company has also made inroads in supplying restaurant chains locally – including Popeyes in the Philippines – with value-added shrimp products.
Madarang said Fisherfarms has only just started its value-added shrimp journey, and it plans on moving into a lot of other interesting products – including shrimp gyoza and others.
“To really add value to the shrimp, that’s the only way we think we can make a mark in the market – to be different and to have some mileage, because we have been left behind,” Madarang said. “This [Corn & Coconut Breaded Shrimp] is just an initial entry, and we’re coming up with that a lot of things that will do something with shrimp.”
Photo by Chris Chase/SeafoodSource
