Mowi wins Ocado listing, extending brand into growing organic farmed salmon segment
The company started producing organic salmon in Scotland last year and is now adding ‘another feather to the branded bow’ with the latest launch.
Online retailer Ocado will be first to market with the two branded organic salmon products, which include fillets and smoked slices.
In addition to the organic products, Ocado will also stock the full non-organic Mowi range, including premium Scottish fillets, smoked slices and ready-to-eat fillets.
Since harvesting its first Scottish organic salmon from Loch Ewe in the west of Scotland last summer, Mowi has been providing organic salmon products under private label, most notably for Sainsbury’s.
The group now has three farms certified under the Soil Association's organic standard: Loch Ewe, Leven, and Invasion Bay.
The organic products are processed and packed at Mowi’s Rosyth plant in Scotland, which also does the private label salmon business for Sainsbury’s.
Mowi is looking to ramp up its presence in the organic salmon market in response to growing demand from UK consumers for organic food, said Cowan.
In 2021, less than 1 percent of the fresh salmon market's value came from organic products, but sales grew at three times the market average – up 33 percent compared with 2020.
“We want to reach further with the organic,” said Cowan. “We are a significant player within Scottish organic already, but we want to grow this ... it’s a nice feather to the branded bow.”
Elbowing into organic
Traditionally most organic salmon in the UK market has come from Norway or Ireland, with small volumes from Orkney and Shetland in Scotland, but now Mowi is joining in with operations on the west coast.
Following certification from the Soil Association, Mowi harvested its first organic salmon in Scotland from Loch Ewe in August 2021.
At the time, Mowi said the organic salmon, which is also certified to EU organic standards and approved by Agriculture Biologique in France, will be sold under a newly created brand, the Scottish Organic Salmon Company.
With the new volume of organic salmon, combined with the organic volumes from the group’s operations in Ireland, Mowi is now able to supply organic salmon year-round, with the company's Irish team heading up sales.
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