Fishy business nets growth in Wolverhampton
A DECISION to use the Black Country as the base for its UK operation has paid dividends for a specialist food company.
Seafood specialist Star Agro Marine Foods set up its UK base in Wolverhampton three years ago but has already completed almost £6m in sales – £2.3m in the last year alone.
The company supplies sustainable shrimp and an increasing range of white fish and has grown orders after selling under private label brands into a number of large UK supermarkets.
This success has been boosted further by the launch of a van distribution sales arm, which is delivering daily to a host of restaurants, hotels, caterers and independent Asian retailers in the Midlands.
High profile beneficiaries of the new service include the Bilash in Wolverhampton, Tipu Sultan, Shere Khan and Chung Ying in Birmingham, as well as East and West retail stores.
“The UK is major market for high quality, sustainable shrimp and this is reflected in the significant growth we have seen since 2012,” said Star Agro managing director Steve Money.
“Significant investment has been channeled into the development of our shrimp processing factory, farms and hatcheries in India by our parent company, where we can now produce up to 9,000 tons per year of sustainable shrimp for our UK and European markets.”
The additional capacity was quickly snapped up, prompting the firm to move into space on the Fallings Park Industrial Estate and leasing cold storage space in Brierley Hill.
It has also purchased the three new vans from local supplier Approved Vehicle Contracts in Wolverhampton.
The firm’s workforce has also grown from two, three years ago to six now and the firm has said if further expansion is forthcoming then it well increase again.
