Fortune International acquires Ocean Harvest, expands reach into Texas

Fortune International has announced the acquisition of Ocean Harvest Wholesale, a Houston, Texas, U.S.A.- and Delcambre, Louisiana, U.S.A.-based seafood and shrimp processor and distributor.

The acquisition, announced on 28 December, 2021, caps off a year in which Fortune acquired multiple seafood processing companies. In September, the company acquired Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.A.-based Meat Processors Inc., just weeks after it announced the acquisition of Theodore, Alabama, U.S.A.-based CCT Logistics Inc. – a 68,000-square-foot cold storage facility.

The newest acquisition adds to Fortune’s growing market presence, and expands Fortune International subsidiary Fortune Fish & Gourmet’s reach into Texas.

“Texas has been a target market for us for a number of years. Ocean Harvest’s successful processing and logistic models give us the important framework to continue to grow throughout the state,” Fortune International President and CEO Sean O’Scannlain said in a release. “The shrimp processing plant in Delcambre will be crucial in the further development of our domestic shrimp program.”

Fortune added that the acquisition will give the company direct access to Houston and other major Texas cities, while increasing the company’s efficiencies throughout U.S. states along the Gulf Coast. Ocean Harvest’s name will change to Fortune Fish & Gourmet, and will continue to operate out of its facilities in Houston and Delcambre.

Ocean Harvest was established in 1992 and is a family owned and operated seafood distributor and processor. The company has a 70,000-square-foot distribution center in Houston that is fully refrigerated and FDA certified. The company’s facility in Delcambre has direct access to the Delcambre Canal, according to Fortune, allowing direct purchase from shrimp boats.

“All of us at Ocean Harvest are extremely happy to join the Fortune family,” Ocean Harvest President and Owner Eric Tran said. “We are excited to offer our customers more extensive product lines of both seafood and gourmet while enhancing our logistics and service.”

Fortune International first launched what it calls an “aggressive” acquisition strategy in 2012, when it acquired JDY Gourmet. Since then, it has acquired over a dozen different companies, including Coastal Seafoods, Lobster Gram, the St. Louis and Kansas City operations of Morey’s Seafood International, Jubilee Seafood, and the Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A. operations of Seattle Fish.

Fortune International itself was acquired by Bahrain-based Investcorp in February 2020, which, according O'Scannlain, “further accelerated” its acquisition strategy.