Salma owner Bremnes Seashore fronts “Bömlo” brand in the French market.
Over the past five years, Bömlo salmon from Bremnes Seashore has become a reference product on fresh salmon loins in the gourmet market in France. Behind this lies two things; long-term commitment and systematic work. Bremnes Seashore does not sell spot sales of Bömlo salmon but promises regular delivery to the same customers every single week.
“French chefs, food experts, distributors are asking for Bömlo salmon when ordering. The reason is simple. We deliver steady quality and volume throughout the year, and we notice that the French market appreciates,” said Bremnes Seashore Group Chief Executive Officer, Olav Svendsen who this weekend is in Lyon in connection with the most prestigious gastronomic competition in the world, the Bocuse d’Or.
Faithful
“The customers are exclusive. They are faithful and come back again and again because customers want the product. It’s almost all fillets and then we talk about fish that are filleted on Bømlo so value creation happens here with us in Norway,” said Svendsen.
He admitted that Bremnes Seashore is best known for Salma salmon, but produces so much salmon that not everything becomes Salma. For Bremnes, it was natural to focus on a special brand for the restaurant market, Bömlo-salmon. But then that is a little less refined than Salma.
In 2017, almost 1,000 tons of Bömlo salmon went to France. For the past five years, Bremnes has worked with Saveurs de Norvège (SdN) to get French chefs to test Bömlo’s salmon while spending time explaining to them the unique aquaculture philosophy of Bremnes Seashore.
Inquiring
“We now notice that several French chefs demand Bømlo salmon and actually use the name “Saumon Bömlo” (Bömlo-salmon) on the menu, and then I think we have done something right,” said Svendsen.
He is looking forward to the Sirha Lyon trade show under Bocuse d’Or. Then he will tell this success story to several chefs and food lovers.
Together with our partner Saveurs de Norvège (Tastes of Norway), we have a Norwegian stand at Sirha. There we will demonstrate and have meetings with important French customers. We look forward to that,” said development manager Simon Nesse Økland from Bremnes Seashore.
