Aug
12
Spanish processor Isidro de la Cal is expanding overseas thanks to its bet on seafood in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), reports La Opinion de Galicia.
In recent declarations to the newspaper, the president of the group, Pablo Garcia-Gasco, said the La Coruna-based company is growing in Portugal, where the discount retailer Lidl has near 340 stores.
Isidro de la Cal will also start exports to the south of France soon, Garcia-Gasco said. The company’s president said it is complicated to sell MAP products to other countries, as shelf-life can limit the distance the exports travel.
For the rest of Europe, Isidro de la Cal pins its hopes in its new line of ready-to-cook fish.
The line is seen as the core business of the Spanish processor this year, Javier Aran, director of operations and research and development, told Undercurrent News during the Seafood Expo Global trade show held in Brussels last May.
The group said European retailers had responded positively to the new line of ready-to-cook cod, seabass, seabream, hake, salmon or tuna fillets with curry, barbecue, tomato and chili or herbs sauces.
“The new line involves the following step after producing MAP products, it allows even more convenience experience as consumers can cook fish without changing the packaging,” Miguel Cabado, Isidro de la Cal’s marketing director, told Undercurrent at the time.
New ready-to-cook fish and sauces products allow also longer shelf life, which is vital for exports to new markets such as UK, Germany, East Europe or even Brazil.
Gasco aims to reach above €55 million this year, after the company invested €1.5m to increase production for MAP trays from 6,000 metric tons to 10,000t by the end of 2015, in a move driven by the expansion of Lidl in Spain.
Last November, the company closed a refinancing deal over €68m of debt with a pool of 12 banks that included a payment-exemption period of three years.
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