For Sam Rockwell, co-founder and CEO of frozen foods supplier Happi Foodi, the recent investment from Japanese seafood giant Maruha Nichiro feels like it has brought him full circle.

Well before Rockwell was born, his great-grandfather founded Port Clyde Sardines, which according to the family was the first company to cook sardines in the can in Port Clyde, Maine.

Rockwell believes this family history was one of the reasons Maruha Nichiro, the world's largest seafood company by revenue, felt comfortable enough to take a stake in the company and launch what he expects will be a partnership that capitalizes on the strengths of both groups.