Saving Seafood

US scallop company Northern Wind forges ahead with traceability tech

June 5, 2020 — Scallop producer Northern Wind is partnering with fellow Massachusetts company Legit Fish to make its products traceable to the source.

The technology provided by Legit Fish, which the company is making available to any interested foodservice and retail customers, will track Northern Wind’s product supply chain from its vessel to the processor.

Northern Wind’s Co-CEO George Kouri told IntraFish the technology has been more than a year in the making, and is customized for the seafood business.

“We now believe as things begin to open up, and we’re in the early stages of the new scallop season, that now is the time to make this announcement,” he said.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Northern Wind, Legit Fish announce partnership

May 28, 2020 — New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Northern Wind announced 27 May the company has formed a new partnership with Legit Fish, a Boston, Massachusetts-based tech company focusing on seafood traceability.

According to a release from the company, the partnership has been in the works for more than a year, with Northern Wind Chairman Ken Melanson and CEO George Kouri working to “fine-tune the traceability and scalability” of the technology. The new technology will allow Northern Wind to have full traceability of scallops the company sells, including origin, landing date, harvest area, and sustainability profiles.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Northern Wind’s $12m plant expansion makes room for more scallops, other products

December 19, 2019 — Northern Wind is already one of the three largest processors, distributors and direct offloaders of fresh and frozen scallops in North America, but its recently announced $12 million plant expansion in New Bedford, Massachusetts, promises to also make it an even larger player in both the scallop and overall seafood space, CEO George Kouri tells Undercurrent News.

The 32-year-old company revealed this week that it is in the process of completing construction on what will be a 38,000 square foot processing facility with a 21,600 square foot freezer capable of holding up to 5.5m pounds of seafood. That’s 11 times the company’s previous freezer holding capacity.

The new freezer is already up and running, and the rest of the facility could be ready to roll shortly after New Year’s Day, Kouri said.

Northern Wind, which opened some 32 years ago, is already processing some 18m lbs of scallops annually, buying all of the scallops produced by some 70 vessels with which the company has 30+ year agreements. Though imports account for between 25% and 30% of annual scallop sales.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Premium scallop line, rebranding effort part of the next chapter for Northern Wind

March 15, 2018 — New Bedford, Massachusetts-based seafood supplier Northern Wind, celebrated a milestone 30-year anniversary at the 2018 Seafood Expo North America event in Boston, Massachusetts. Company founders Ken Melanson and Michael Fernandes, along with Northern Wind’s co-CEO George S. Kouri, said they look forward to blossoming the success of Northern Wind even further in the years to come.

“We’re looking forward to the next chapter, because the first 30 years have been so robust and fruitful for the company,” Kouri said. “The next chapter for this company brings a lot of different opportunities for us – it brings opportunity for change; it brings opportunity to increase channels of distribution; it brings opportunities for new product sourcing; it brings opportunity for our re-branding efforts in packaging, re-facing the company in the image we want to project. It goes on and on, including Fair Trade.”

Besides scallops, the supplier has established a wide-ranging portfolio including ahi tuna, Atlantic salmon, North American lobster, monkfish, headfish, skate, and value-added seafood offerings. But the business has made its name with scallops.

“We have strict and strong historical relationships with vessels. We have state-of-the-art facilities with very well-financed capital improvements that enable us to process and produce probably more scallops than anyone in this industry,” Kouri said. “We’re very much known for our quality, our credibility, our loyalty to our supply side, and our customer service.”

A year ago, the company was the first scallop producer in the nation to receive Fair Trade certification. Building off demand from the foodservice sector for premium scallops, the company has launched its Captain’s Call Five-Star Premium Scallops.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Seafood Icon, Northern Wind® to Introduce Its New Rebranded Captain’s Call Scallop Product Line at Seafood Expo North America

March 6, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The following was released by Northern Wind:

Northern Wind, an industry leader as a direct off-loader, processor and distributor of fresh and frozen scallops announced today it will be unveiling its new rebranding of its iconic Captain’s Call product line at Seafood Expo North America. The new identity includes a new brand logo, 1 lb. retail bag, 5 lb. foodservice bag, 5 lb. foodservice box and a 8 lb. fresh container. The rebranding also includes new product sell sheets and shipping boxes. Northern Wind has recently concluded a complete company wide rebranding that will be showcased at Seafood Expo North America that better reflects the many recent changes the company has undergone as well as its vision for the future.

Captain’s Call Scallops signify the most prized item…the best of the fisherman’s catch. That’s why Northern Wind named these scallops Captain’s Call; for all of those hard-charging seaworthy captains who make them their #1 choice. The new logo signifies that and is proudly displayed front and center in the re-designing of the packaging for both the retail and foodservice product lines.

“We wanted our new Captain’s Call brand identity to reflect our leadership position within the industry and our commitment to be the very best at what we do for our customers,” said George Kouri, CEO of Northern Wind.

Founded in 1987, and headquartered on the historic New Bedford, Massachusetts waterfront, Northern Wind’s state-of-the-art facility is certified by the U.S. Department of Commerce Seafood Inspection Program for packing of USDC Grade A Fresh and Frozen Scallops. Northern Wind was the first in the nation to receive Fair Trade™ Certification and during the 2017-18 fishing season purchased over 1 Million pounds of Fair Trade scallops. In addition, Northern Wind’s start-of-the-art processing facility is BRC and MSC certified.

Northern Wind offers a variety of different graded scallops under the Five Star Premium, Mariner’s Choice and Sea Spray brands. Northern Wind has seen explosive growth during the past three years increasing their market share among leading chain restaurants and through the mainstream supermarket channel.

As a direct off-loader of scallops, Northern Wind never compromises on the quality and safety of their scallops. Northern Wind’s state-of-the-art facility is the most advanced in the industry and was designed to meet today’s manufacturing regulatory demands, quality control and product traceability to ensure years of future growth.

“The past three years has been an exciting time for Northern Wind. Our customers now realize that they can capitalize on the scope and depth of our capabilities, which in turn has increased the demand for our products. This has directly led us to make new hires, implement our new branding and position us for future growth,” added Ken Melanson, Founder & Chairman of Northern Wind.

For 30 years, Northern Wind has earned its reputation for providing its customers with only the freshest All natural, wild caught and fleet harvested from the icy pure waters of the North Atlantic. Northern Wind is a member of the American Scallop Association and provides its customers with the freshest seafood products that have been responsibly harvested using sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.

Read the release here.