Fish firm batters the opposition with £10m sales strategy

A STRING of new retail and wholesale contracts are set to help a Wolverhampton seafood company break the £10m barrier for the first time in its history.

Star Agro Marine Foods has sealed more than £4m of new business in the last six months and has marked the achievement by opening a new trade counter.

The sustainable shrimp specialist aims to capitalise on the growing trend of ‘do it yourself’ chefs by offering its Star Feast range of products to the public.

More than £100,000 has been invested in expanding into a second adjacent unit on the Fallings Park Industrial Estate and equipping it with a new cold storage unit, display freezers and a product picking area.

A trade counter manager has already been appointed and an additional driver taken on to cope with the expected increase in demand. This takes the number of people employed by the business to 11.

“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,” said Steve Money, managing director of Star Agro Marine Foods.

“This means there is an increasing demand for high quality shrimps and white fish, including tilapia, cod and pangasius 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.”

He said the trade counter would enable people to come and buy shrimp that is supplied direct from some of the best sustainable farms in India and Bangladesh.

He said the firm was targeting sales of around £100,000 in the first year.

Backed by its £30m-strong Indian parent, Star Agro Marine Foods said it offered full traceability from hatchery to delivery to its customers.

Away from the retail side, the firm has secured to supply deals with major high street retailers this year; a move that has enabled the firm to quadruple in wholsesale business in the last six months.

It also lists high profile Chinese and Asian restaurants amongst its client base.

Mohammed Khan, owner of Wolverhampton’s popular Bilash restaurant is a consultant to Star Agro Marine Foods.

He said: “This is just the start of a really ambitious sales drive for the business and the next six months will see us launch another new Star Agro brand, introduce new products to the range and create our own ordering and delivery app.

“The latter will be available on Android and iPhone and gives our customers the opportunity to place orders and have them delivered direct to their door.”