A major Thai surimi producer is planning on doubling capacity in the coming year to cater to strong demand from restaurants in China as well as the United States.
Smile Heart ships 40 percent of its exports to the U.S., with 32 percent going to Asia. Demand from China is soaring – improving from 10 percent of export sales in 2017 to 20 percent in 2018, according to projections by company founder and CEO Rojjanin Phatchararuangkij.
Sales of the “Sea Smile” brand established for China have been strong in the high-end Chinese foodservice sector, Phatchararuangkij told SeafoodSource at his factory outside Bangkok.
With sales rising, finding adequate supplies of fish is challenge, said the Smile Heart CEO. He’s had to look to Vietnam, Indonesia, and India for alternatives as “finding enough supply in the U.S. is difficult…supply [of fish] in Asia is definitely decreasing.”
Burmese workers make up the bulk of the 600 staff working three shifts, six days a week at the Smile Heart plant. The firm supplies the “Chef Aroy” fish tofu brand as well as the Tokyo Nori brand in the U.S. It also packs imitation crab sticks made from Alaska pollock for the Kohyo American brand in California.
Growing consumer power in Asia means that crab and cuttlefish balls for the hot pot restaurant trade are becoming increasingly important products for surimi-focused exporters in Thailand, added Phatchararuangkij.
