Bumble Bee, Sapmer announce exclusive partnership

Bumble Bee Foods has announced an exclusive partnership with France-based tuna catcher and processor…

Bumble Bee Foods has announced an exclusive partnership with France-based tuna catcher and processor, Sapmer.

The partnership will result in Bumble Bee’s successful move into the premium food service arena delivering sashimi-quality frozen tuna to North American restaurants and food retailers.

“The relationship between Sapmer and Bumble Bee is based on synergies in our approach to producing quality products in a sustainable fashion,” said Chris Lischewski, Bumble Bee president and CEO.

“More discerning retail and food service buyers in North America are looking for the next level of quality frozen seafood products and this partnership fills the demand,” said Lischewski. “We’ve had our eye on this growing niche in the frozen industry for some time and Sapmer’s approach represents the quality we’ve been looking for in a partner.”

Sapmer is the second-largest tuna fleet in France and a long-time supplier to the Japanese market.

“The relationship between Sapmer and Bumble Bee is based on synergies in our approach to producing quality products in a sustainable fashion,” said Sapmer CEO, Yannick Lauri. “We couldn’t have chosen a better partner to introduce our sashimi-grade yellowfin and skipjack to the North American market.”