Loch Duart Expands Production into Canada
01 February 2012SCOTLAND, UK - Loch Duart Ltd, a salmon farming company from North West Scotland, has invested in a newly formed salmon farming company in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Founded in 1999, Loch Duart has built a worldwide reputation for quality farming methods and the great taste of its salmon. The company has now reached the limit of its growth opportunities in Scotland and, with rapidly growing markets in the US currently supplied by airfreight, views the establishment of production in North America as the logical next step both commercially and environmentally.
As a result, Loch Duart is investing in this venture, creating a new salmon farming company in Nova Scotia, Canada intending it to be a model farm that will find new ways to farm better. All of this came out of an opportunity to purchase an existing site (with stock and equipment) at Owls’ Head on the Eastern shore of Nova Scotia. This site has been successfully farmed since 2008. Loch Duart believes this offers a unique chance to establish an operation of a similar size to its Scottish operations within five to seven years in an area that is not being farmed already. It is a chance to develop a farm with a high global profile which will demonstrate the quality of farming practices and the quality of food that can be produced from Nova Scotia. The Canadian management and Loch Duart believe that salmon farming, zoned properly, and with the correct breaks between generations, can be operated in Nova Scotia with the highest health status.
This development will allow the market for salmon reared by Loch Duart’s methods to grow in North America, concentrating on Canada, whilst also reducing the environmental footprint of supplying these markets. The new brand from Snow Island will be targeted at those sections of the markets that appreciate the highest quality and taste, which also understand the environmental benefits too. The investment makes strong commercial sense too as it will cut down the cost of supplying these markets. The environmental and commercial advantages of producing food close to market are well known but for a highly perishable product like salmon, reliability becomes a major advantage too.
Loch Duart salmon exports all over the world and is known for its taste and the standards of farming that go with it. Brand exposure and customer loyalty have created a position in which Loch Duart’s market potential is strong worldwide and demand exceeds supply. The United States and Canada together comprise the largest market for salmon in the world and it is also where the Loch Duart brand has excellent visibility. Being within a day’s truck drive from the proposed farms the market is easily accessible and currently underexploited.
The new brand will compete with Loch Duart Scottish salmon which is entirely intentional. The principles of provenance and regionality are important to the supply of food globally and are central to the company’s beliefs. Demand for Loch Duart Scottish salmon is likely to continue to grow but Snow Island Salmon will provide variety and a comparable alternative within the premium salmon niche.
Snow Island Salmon will be farmed with the same underlying philosophy as Loch Duart. Clearly the conditions in Nova Scotia will require adaptions and improvements to the rearing methods used in Scotland. Snow Island Salmon will be capable of producing up to 2,500 tonnes of salmon by 2013. The new company’s management will be based in Nova Scotia with sea sites along the coast from Cable Island eastwards.
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