Soul of Japan, the Japanese arm of land-based salmon farming pioneer Pure Salmon, has secured a distribution partner for the 10,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon it will produce annually from its new facility in Tsu City, Japan
The new facility is due to be finished in 2021. Due to the growing demand for clean, high-quality, sustainable salmon in the region, the Japanese trading giant Itochu has agreed to distribute the locally produced fish under the brand name ‘Soul of Japan.’
Less than a year after the launch of Soul of Japan KK (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo), and a full two years before the Tsu City facility goes into production, this is a major vote of confidence in the firm’s business vision.
With the deal, Pure Salmon aims to become a leading supplier of clean and sustainable salmon, free of antibiotics, pesticides, hormones and microplastics.
Pure Salmon’s farms use recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology provided by AquaMaof Aquaculture Technologies, a proven and scalable method of aquaculture, which sees the fish reared in the healthiest living conditions possible, closely replicating the positive qualities of their natural environment to produce a clean, fresh and sustainable source of salmon, which is free of any antibiotics, pesticides, hormones and microplastics.
Stephane Farouze, board director of Pure Salmon and chairman and founder of 8F Asset Management, said that the agreement is in line with the company’s aim to provide consumers around the world with safe and environmentally friendly salmon.
Erol Emed, CEO of Soul of Japan, commented, “The retail value of this agreement is worth approximately US$200mn annually. Our distribution deal with Itochu is a significant validation of our strategy and vision. And it should be a clear indication to the industry that, despite being a new business, we have a product and an operation that should be taken very seriously.”
This announcement follows news of the company’s ambitious launches, a fully operational facility in Poland (producing adult-size fish of four to five kilograms) and projects underway in Japan, Europe, America, China and Lesotho that will contribute to Pure Salmon’s aim to produce 260,000 tonnes of salmon per annum in facilities around the world.
