Norwegian Seafood Council talks branding success

As usual, Norway has a large presence at Seafood Expo North America, and Egil Ove Sundheim, the U.S. director of the Norwegian Seafood Council, said the combination of unified marketing strategy and consistently high-quality products had driven his country to become the world’s second largest global exporter of seafood.

“We have able to build our brand name into something really powerful,” Sundheim said soon after the kickoff of this year’s event Sunday, 6 March in Boston. “That branding, as well as the quality of our products, has helped us consolidate our market share and helped to open new markets as well.”

Solid coordination between Norwegian seafood companies, the Norwegian government and its investment in the industry and efficient and effective management systems for ensuring quality have been key to Norway’s success, Sundheim said.

Norway’s reputation for sustainable, quality products has become an even more important to its brand as global customers’ awareness and demand for such products has risen in recent years.
“Everyone is trying to catch up on sustainability,” Sundheim said. “We had good systems in place already so we’re ahead of the game.”