New markets support BioMar in quarter one
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Ioannis Zabetakis Sustainability and functionality
he news: “Retailer Holland and Barrett have bowed to Greenpeace pressure and removed krill products from its shelves after being warned they were stealing food from penguins” (Telegraph, March 23, 2018). According to NGO Greenpeace, the krill-fishing industry, which involves catching the tiny shrimp-like creatures for products such as Omega-3 tablets, has threatened wildlife in Antarctica. For the environmental group, this activity depletes food from penguins, seals and whales in the fragile region. The environmental campaign group accused Holland & Barrett of stocking products which put species that depend on the krill for food at risk. Supporters have sent 40,000 emails to the company’s chief executive on the issue in 24 hours and stores across the UK have seen krill products labelled with stickers about their impact on the environment. Separately, a polling of 2,024 adults by YouGov for Greenpeace has revealed almost two-thirds of people (65%) think retailers should not be stocking krill products fished in areas being considered for protection in the Antarctic Ocean. A recent report from Greenpeace warned that tracking of ships targeting krill in Antarctica has revealed vessels close to wildlife feeding grounds and suggests some are anchoring near existing protected areas. Greenpeace is calling for all vessels krill fishing in the region to stay out of all Antarctic areas which are being proposed as marine sanctuaries and for businesses which buy krill to avoid those that continue to fish in those places. Holland & Barrett’s chief executive Peter Aldis said all the krill-based supplements it sold were certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, but the company shared the concerns raised in the Greenpeace report. He said, “Protecting the oceans is important to us, which is why we were the first retailer to offer a beauty range that is completely microplastics free before it became law. We have therefore decided today to remove all krill-based products from sale over the next few weeks.” He said the company would be replacing krill-based supplements with algal oils to ensure customers had continued access to important diet supplements. Our comment: We need to be careful and cautious on creating nutraceuticals on a sustainable and functional way. There is no scientific doubt that polar lipids in fish and krill have strong anti-inflammatory bioactivities that can be of great benefit for humans and there is a clear market gap after the unlinking of omega-3 oils to cardiovascular diseases. Current academic and marketing research in our group focuses on fulfilling this gap.
Further reading
Book: Marine Oils (From Sea to Pharmaceuticals); Nova Science; editor Ioannis Zabetakis Paper: Phospholipids of Animal and Marine Origin: Structure, Function, and Anti-Inflammatory Properties http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/22/11/1964 e: ioannis.zabetakis@ul.ie
@yanzabet
Currently working on Food Lipids at the University of Limerick, Ireland, focusing on feeds, food and nutraceuticals against inflammation, Ioannis is a co-inventor in two patents, has edited a book on marine oils, and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles (h-index 19). He is currently writing a book on "The Impact of Nutrition and Statins on Cardiovascular Diseases" for Elsevier.
he first quarter of 2018 underlines that BioMar Group has entered into new markets and species, creating viable business growth. The financial results are support by solid yield from the new investments while weather conditions and a competitive scenario hit the company’s salmon division. Overall, the company delivered a lower result than expected in Q1 2018, but does not adjust the expectations to the full year results. Sales volumes have increased compared to Q1 2017, which mainly reflects the contribution from the acquisition of Alimentsa in Ecuador. While BioMar, in the salmon markets has been challenged by lower volumes and a continuous
competitive situation, market share stays at the level obtained in 2017 keeping the company on par with main competitors. Carlos Diaz, CEO, BioMar Group explained, “We see the achieved market share in 2017 at the salmon markets and especially in Norway as situation which the market will need to get used to. It has been a tough competitive scenario with pressure on margins, but we expect it to improve during the year. In Q1 we concluded negotiations with key customers in the UK and we are confident that 2018 will turn out to be another good year, where we will push innovations to the market, setting the agenda in the industry.” While the core markets have experience a challenging first quarter due to tough weather conditions hitting mainly Europe, the new markets have been flourishing. Innovative products brought to the markets combined with what the company calls “anchored local agility” have enable them to create a good foothold within Ecuador as well as Turkey and China. Carlos Diaz continued, “We believe in creating anchored local agility in our new business unit as well as for our existing units. The philosophy is to make sure the local units can impact the global centres of excellence and tap into the global innovation resources within raw materials, sustainability, nutrition and health; at the same time being agile in the cooperation with the customers.” You can visit BioMar at Aquaculture UK in Aviemore, Scotland at stand 31.
6 | May 2018 - International Aquafeed