Safe Catch charts rapid growth, earns plastic neutral certification

Safe Catch, which tests its tuna and salmon for mercury, is seeing high demand for its products in the U.S. and has plans to expand throughout the country and abroad.

The San Francisco, California-based supplier recently became the first rePurpose Certified Plastic Neutral seafood company via a partnership with rePurpose Global. The organization funds the collection, processing, and reuse of as much plastic waste as it uses across its packaging and operations, Safe Catch said in a press release.

Safe Catch, which claims to be the only seafood brand that tests each individual tuna and salmon to a strict mercury limit, expects to double its revenue again this year “as we expand into more North American channels and internationally,” Chief Operations Officer Kevin McKay told SeafoodSource.

The fast-growing brand is sold at most major conventional retailers including Kroger, Publix, Delhaize, Costco, and Albertsons/Safeway, along with Sprout’s Farmer’s markets and “thousands of natural and independent markets,” McKay said.

McKay said Safe Catch, which also supplies foodservice, will be expanding into other types of retail outlets in the near future.

Despite its growth, the brand faces big challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ocean shipping lines worldwide have increased costs by as much as two times, McKay said. Additionally, congestion at ports due to increased demand for imported products “has doubled the amount of time that products take to get to our warehouses.”

The brand is donating a percentage of every pouch product purchased to plastic reduction efforts, enabling the removal of more than 61,000 pounds of low-value plastic waste every year, the company said. rePurpose will use the funds to recover low-value plastic waste, while investing in waste management facilities, social enterprises, and new technology solutions for waste recovery.

"Now, more than ever, we need brands like Safe Catch to take the lead on environmental action,” rePurpose Global Co-founder and CEO Svanika Balasubramanian said. “Their decision to go plastic neutral will undoubtedly resound across the seafood industry, and we’re excited to help them achieve their sustainability goals moving forward."

Photo courtesy of Safe Catch