GFC

Last summer, SeaShare sent its first shipment of seafood to the Food Bank of Alaska.     The first shipment consisted of 25,000 pounds of canned salmon.    The second shipment consisted of 30,000 pounds of silver salmon, rapidly followed last month by two trailer loads of nearly 63,000 pounds of canned salmon. 

This was a spectacular supply chain collaboration with kudos going to many, but it certainly never would have happened without the quiet stewardship of Reggie Buchanan, Food Resources Manager, Food Bank Of Alaska and Jim Harman, Executive Director of SeaShare.

One of our favorite magazines, Rural Coops Magazine, published a story on the Matanuska Telephone Association Coop. Thanks Dan and crew for including an Alaska-based coop as one of your many coop success stories.    

Download the November/December Issue Link Here

Blue Horizon Announces Completion of Growth Equity Financing Led by Greenmont Capital Partners I and Renewal2

Complete Release Attached Below

New investment to support channel expansion as Blue Horizon continues to deliver consumers healthy and sustainable wild seafood products.

 
RELEASE  Aptos, CA   December 9, 2009

Blue    Horizon    Foods,    Inc. (www.bluehorizonseafood.com), a leading supplier of healthy and environmentally responsibly sourced branded seafood products, today announced the completion of a growth equity financing led by Greenmont Capital Partners I, LP and Renewal2 Social Investment Fund (US) LP.

In just a few short years, Blue Horizon has established a branded leadership position within frozen, prepared natural and wild seafood offerings as an innovator and a pioneer. The new funding will allow Blue Horizon to execute on the company’s strategic growth initiatives, including product development and the continued expansion of distribution within the natural, conventional and mass grocery channels. “In staying true to our mission of delivering healthy seafood products that are sourced responsibly, Blue Horizon has addressed a problem area for consumers and quickly built a loyal following,” said John Battendieri, Founder and CEO of Blue Horizon. “In partnering with leading like-minded investors such as Greenmont and Renewal2, we will have the opportunity to broaden our reach and offer more consumers a unique, sustainable alternative. In addition to capital, our investors bring strength in operations, distribution and strategy, giving us depth and leverage that few early stage companies can claim.”

“Blue Horizon is the leader in a market that we feel will only grow and become more defined as consumer awareness continues to rise,” said Mark Retzloff, a venture partner at Greenmont Capital. “Our partnership with John Battendieri and his team has been very successful over the last four years and we look forward to continuing to play a role in Blue Horizon’s rapid growth and success.”



“Blue Horizon has successfully capitalized on the rapidly growing U.S. market for cleaner, healthier and more responsibly produced seafood,” said Paul Richardson, President of Renewal2. “We were extremely impressed with the Company’s strong growth in 2008 and 2009 and when given the opportunity to join the Company as investors, we eagerly joined. We are excited to help Blue Horizon continue its growth, offering healthy and environmentally responsible products to consumers.”

Greenmont Capital and Renewal2 were joined by Bradmer Foods, a venture capital firm focused on early stage specialty food businesses, as well as a group of individual investors, in the round of funding. Presidio Financial Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Blue Horizon.

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ale and Sierra Nevada collaborated to debut, this month,  a new brew called Life and Limb.   The collaboration went beyond the competitive breweries, it also included the collaboration of two syrups into their Life and Limg. Check out this video of Kahtiltna's Birch Syrup being used as an ingredient for yet another new product.   Kudo's to Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head and Kahiltna.

PRESS RELEASE:  June 16, 2009

Emmonak, Alaska—With the latest signs from the Yukon River pointing to a plentiful chum run during the June opening, Kwik’pak Fisheries plans to launch its fully traceable keta salmon—“The King of Ketas”—in a major target-city push this season.

The campaign hits supermarkets and restaurants in the West, Southwest, Midwest, and East Coast in early July, and will feature ads, in-store specials, and food editor releases.  Major U.S. markets involved include Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Chicago, Peoria, Upstate New York, and Boston.   In addition, many supermarkets will run the keta promotion store-wide in several cities. 

Kwik’pak is working with Seattle-based Trace Register (www.traceregister.com) to create a consumer-friendly label that purchasers of their salmon can “read” and trace back to the source, according to Kwik’pak’s General Manager, Jack Schultheis.  Schultheis said the use of the Trace Register™ system is designed to ensure that consumers are getting the product they are paying for—not a substitute. 

Kudo's to Sandro Lane of Alaska Protein Recovery who is manufacturing the new Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil and to Costco who is featuring the product in their warehouse stores.