Seafood manufacturer, Star Agro Marine Foods is on the crest of a wave with £10m sales breakthrough and a new trade counter for the public.
Star Agro Marine Foods managed to attract £4m worth of new business in the past six months, taking sales past the £10m mark; as a result the firm has also opened a new trade country at the firm’s Black Country base.
The manufacturer wants to capitalise on this growth by selling its range of fish and seafood products to the general public. Up until now the firm had focused on supplying the UK’s HoReCa (Hotels, Restaurants, Fast Food outlets & Caterers) sector.
Star Agro has invested £100,000 in expanding its premises in to a second unit adjacent to its Fallings Park Industrial Estate site, equipped with a product picking area, display freezers and new cold storage unit.
Due to the growth in sales and the site expansion, the firm has taken on an extra two members of staff, taking the total number of employees to 11.
Managing director, Steve Money explained: “The amount of TV programmes dedicated to cooking is inspiring a whole new wave of ambitious chefs, who are exploring new tastes and new foods.
“This means there is an increasing demand for high quality shrimps and white fish. We’ve seen it from the big supermarket chains we supply and the restaurant/hotel trade…now we’re beginning to see it from individuals and families who want to buy in smaller quantities.”
Related Articles:
- Food and drink sector to create 75,000 new jobs
- Food & bev exports grow in first half of 2016
- Mars Food reveals £23m investment in King’s Lynn
He continued: “The trade counter, gives people the chance to come down and buy shrimp that is direct from some of the best sustainable farms in India and Bangladesh. We’d like to do £100,000 in the first year…that would be a good result. “
Backed by its £30m-strong Indian parent, Star Agro Marine Foods provide full traceability from hatchery to delivery to its customers.
This year has been a major period of growth for the Wolverhampton firm, with sales up by £4m, despite currency fluctuations caused by the Brexit vote.
Two high street retailers have signed significant deals and the company’s wholesale business has quadrupled over the past six months and now lists high profile Chinese and Asian restaurants among its client base.
