Thai Union Ingredients (TUI), a fully-owned subsidiary of global seafood giant Thai Union Group, is ramping up production of tuna oil and tuna bone powder, but is mindful of the hurdles still to come.

"The biggest challenge to enter markets with these ingredient products in the future is having huge investments," TUI Managing Director Leon Coolen told IntraFish.

"It is very different to what Thai Union is used to, which is having big factories with a lot of labor activity," he said, comparing that to a vastly different, very high-tech process needed for food-grade ingredients business.