From Humble Beginnings To Global Tuna Giant

There are many things people remember about 1977; it was a big year for Hollywood blockbuster movies, with Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever and Close Encounters of the Third Kind all opening at the box office. The TV mini-series Roots drew an unprecedented audience of 130 million, and the space shuttle Enterprise made its first test glide on the back of a jumbo jet.

But few realize it was also the period when, almost 40 years ago, Thai Union embarked on its journey to become the world’s largest canned tuna producer. From the beginning, the company says business was based upon delivery of a healthy, nutritious and quality product to customers, and over three decades later the company has grown to become a leader in the seafood industry.

Now known as Thai Union Group PCL, it is the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products in the world. In 2015, the company recorded annual sales exceeding THB 125 billion (USD 3.6 bn), and now employs a global workforce of over 46,000 people. Its global brand portfolio spans three continents and encompasses ambient seafood, frozen and chilled seafood, pet care, value-added fish products and other businesses. Its most well-known brands include; Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Mareblu, King Oscar, and Rügen Fisch as well as leading Thai brands Sealect, Fisho and Bellotta.

Established in 1977 as a small, privately-owned canning company, Thai Union began life employing just 150 people to produce canned tuna from a processing factory in Samut Sakhon, on the outskirts of Bangkok. The firm told Atuna that as a new company, it initially struggled to break down barriers and convince overseas buyers it could produce to the standards necessary for export markets.

However after years of work in the local market, Thai Union began to expand its operations overseas, as well as encompassing frozen food production in 1988 with the formation of Thai Union Frozen Products.

International Expansion

With already strong profits, no foreign creditors and increasing confidence in the company’s share price boosting its market capitalization, Thai Union began the first of many international investments in 1997 when it acquired 50 percent of the third largest canned seafood manufacturer in the US, Chicken of the Sea. It later lifted its ownership to 100 percent in 2001.

With eyes set firmly on establishing a global network of brands, TU moved forwards with further acquisitions and expansion in the US market. Empress International, a frozen seafood importer and distributor was acquired in 2003, and then incorporated into Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods which began operations in 2006.

But expansion was not limited solely to the US market. Looking for growth closer to its home base, in 2008 the company purchased a majority stake in Vietnamese canned seafood producer and exporter, Yueh Chyang Canned Food. The expansion in the region was further advanced with an investment in Avanti Feed Limited in India the following year.

The company pivoted into Europe with the acquisition of MW Brands in 2010, (now known as Thai Union Europe) a major group comprising of leading European tuna brands John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier and Mareblu. It built upon its European business through further strategic acquisitions of salmon processor MerAlliance, King Oscar and most recently Rügen Fisch earlier this year.

Other regional investments have included the 2015 formation of a joint venture with Savola Foods Company to grow TU’s presence in markets of the Middle East, while the company also supplies a considerable volume of canned tuna to private labels for supermarkets around the EU.

Bumps In The Road

However, despite its undisputed success over the past 40 years, Thai Union’s rise to be the top canned tuna processor in the world has not been without bumps in the road. Allegations of slavery in its supply chain, forced labor, non-existent sustainability commitments and links to IUU fishing have all hit TU hard in recent years. Its home nation Thailand even received a yellow card from the EU regarding illegal fishing practices, which it has been trying to shake off for over a year.

Keen to respond to pressure placed on it by various NGOs, and Greenpeace in particular, Thai Union is looking towards 2020 specifically and says it is looking to deliver “real and lasting changes” in the way the company operates, as well as in the wider Thai and global fishing industries.

“We are entering an exciting and important phase for the industry,” Dr. Darian McBain, TU’s Global Director of Sustainable Development, told Atuna.

The company has recently unveiled its Sea Change sustainability strategy, organized into four focus areas: Responsible Sourcing, Marine Conservation, Safe and Legal Labor, and Caring for Communities, all designed to raise standards across global TU’s global brands.

Speaking to Atuna, McBain says that TU already has 100 percent traceability for all of its tuna brands, and is also currently developing a full digital chain of custody “from hatch, to catch, to consumption”, with a public facing can-tracker for all its major tuna brands.

Further demonstrating its sustainability, she reiterates that TU was a founding member of the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) in 2009 and has continuously followed its guidelines for sustainability. The company is also a member of the UN Global Compact, and is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

McBain says that now, more than ever before, the industry is recognizing the urgent need for tuna conservation, more scientific data on fish stocks, and greater transparency and governance in the way it operates. As the world’s largest producer of shelf stable tuna, any significant action Thai Union takes on these issues will send reverberations around the entire industry.

“We hope that our transparency with regards to Sea Change and our wider sustainability initiatives will demonstrate how seriously Thai Union takes these issues,” continues McBain. “Ultimately, we believe that the best way to achieve common goals and drive positive change is to work collaboratively and openly with all industry groups and organizations.”