Glenarm Organic Salmon doubles sales and wins in US
Glenarm Organic Salmon in Northern Ireland doubled sales of fresh salmon last year in markets including the US, Europe, Singapore and Dubai.
The organic salmon farm ships fresh salmon daily and all year round by air to chefs in high-end restaurants and hotels. Around 75 per cent of its production is now sent to wholesalers in the US, Europe, the Emirates and Asia, principally Singapore.
"Last year was a terrific year for us and 2011 is shaping up to be even better," says John Russell, Glenarm Organic Salmon's managing director. "We are winning business increasingly because we have established a strong reputation as producer of premium Irish salmon.
"Customers also appreciate that they can count on the provenance of our fresh salmon because we are a small artisan business operating off the County Antrim coast in the Irish Sea.
"They also understand now that our salmon is farmed to the rigorous standards of the Organic Food Federation. An important marketing theme for us is that our salmon is farmed using only responsible and sustainable techniques.
"Our priority is the health and welfare of the fish, as well as the long term protection of the environment.
"Our salmon, most importantly, has a rich and distinctive flavour that comes from being raised on seawater farms located in the Irish Sea, where the currents and tidal flows ensure optimal exercise and firm muscle formation. Our organic salmon farms benefit immensely from an extremely clean and healthy environment," he adds.
Glenarm Organic Salmon harvests, processes and dispatches all its fresh salmon within 24 hours. It is able to ship products across the world in just three to four days, ensuring a fresher product and longer shelf-life for the retailer and consumer.
The company has been in business since 1989 and is the only organic salmon producer in the north east of Ireland. The small company is located near the historic village of Glenarm in the picturesque Glens of Antrim.
The small company farms around 500 tonnes of premium organic salmon annually and sells every fish it produces, the overwhelming majority to customers in international markets.
The farms are situated in Glenarm Bay and Red Bay on the Antrim coast and separated by 11 miles of fast flowing coastal seawater. Each farm is stocked with a different generation of organically reared smolts from local suppliers.
The fish have plenty of room to grow and are nourished with a special organic diet in the cold and invigorating waters around the coastline.
The company uses only organic ingredients from a nearby feed mill in line with its focus on rearing salmon to the OFF's strict requirements and the RSPCA's 'Five Freedoms' to ensure the maintenance of the highest standards.