Tuna processor Frime introduces Køldfin, a new retail brand aimed at “a more demanding final consumer”

Barcelona, Spain-based seafood supplier Frime is launching a new retail brand, Køldfin, aimed at catering to a more demanding final consumer.

The new range features tuna products “with different types of cuts to meet the new emerging needs of the final consumer in the domestic consumption of seafood,” Frime said in a press release.

The line is broken down into two categories: Essentials and Skilled Cuts. Within the Essentials segment are products “with the most common cuts on the market for daily consumption of tuna, such as steaks,” the company said. Meanwhile, Køldfin Skilled Cuts items include those created to cater to market niches “with cuts for recipes or specific types of consumption, such as sakus, ingots, and dices,” Frime said.

“Aimed at individual consumption or for a maximum of two people with formats that range between 150 and 300 grams, these products are packaged in flatskin, a technology not used so far in the category, where the main role of the product is the raw material," the company said. "Frime wants to offer maximum transparency to its consumers about the products they are buying, thanks to the high quality of its raw material, as well as the versatility and added value that they will bring to a category that is underdeveloped in certain species of fish."

The firm said it plans to expand the range in the short term with different sub-brands under the Køldfin umbrella, exploring other species of fish and new formats. It also intends to “introduce the brand in the categories where tuna is not present or has great potential for growth,” the firm said.

The Køldfin launch, according to Frime, is “one of the most strategic projects” it has undertaken in its efforts to consolidate and harness strong growth.  

“Traditionally, Frime has developed its commercial activity in the professional segment, becoming the largest operator in the distribution and commercialization of processed yellowfin tuna in Europe,” the company said. “Frime faces this new challenge with strong investments at a structural level to make the Køldfin brand one of the most strategic and exciting projects of the company, which is part of an ambitious business plan for the coming years.”

Frime, which specializes in the commercialization of processed yellowfin tuna in Europe, produces an annual volume of 20,000 metric tons. It has a turnover of EUR 130 million (USD 153 million), and a staff of more than 300 employees working across three processing plants: one dedicated to the production of cephalopods and two factories dedicated to the production of tuna in portions.

In 2021, the company increased its production capacity with a new factory in La Roca del Vallés, in Barcelona, for frozen products. It plans to in 2022 in Castellolí, also in Barcelona.

Photo courtesy of Frime