Nissui is steadily pushing ahead with its global strategy based on the TGL ( "Toward Global
Link" ) plan by strategically acquiring access to many shrimp resources. Particularly, the July,
2005 addition to the Nissui Group of major American commercial-use frozen food manufacturer
King & Prince Seafood Corp. was a surprise to other companies in the industry. King & Prince
deals mainly in processed shrimp products.
At the time, Nissui already operated UniSea, Inc., Fishking Processors, Inc. and Gorton's, Inc.
in North America. King & Prince had a long history of business with Gorton's, and its addition to
the Group opened the opportunity not only to further enhance the links between each of these
companies in raw material procurement, production, processing and sales, but also to raise the
presence of the Nissui Group in the North American precooked frozen seafood market.
Moreover, the acquisition also made way for King & Prince to take advantage of Nissui's global
supply chain and R&D functions, particularly with respect to shrimp resources, in order to raise
its purchasing power and product development power and consequently achieve further
growth.
Meanwhile, Nissui Europe is leading the implementation of Nissui's global shrimp strategy in
Europe, where white fish catches in surrounding waters have declined and demand is being
supported by imports. Given this, salmon and shrimp are currently being promoted as
alternatives to white fish. Nissui aspires to tap this market with differentiated products produced
by the Group.
Restoring shrimp consumption in Japan is another major challenge. Nissui believes that
reduced preparation of fried foods in kitchens is the biggest cause behind Japan's decline in
shrimp consumption. In addition to the preconceived notion that fried food is fattening, this
comes from tendencies to avoid preparing time-consuming dishes and shun the burdensome
task of washing oil-coated dishes. Hopes of boosting shrimp consumption are being placed in
recommending alternative ways of preparing shrimp, such as lightly sautéing them in a frying
pan and adding sauce as done in North America, and the shrimp cutlet boom that has begun in
the fast-food chains industry. Food safety is subject to severe scrutiny today. Nissui aims to
cater to this change in the times and increase shrimp consumption in Japan by promoting tasty
new dishes made from safe shrimp. In this way, Nissui's shrimp business is expanding to reach
dinner tables all over Japan and the world.
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