The story of SALMA is a story of courage, innovation and cooperation. About how the world’s best salmon product was created in a small coastal community in Western Norway. Quality, ingenuity and a lot of hard work led to success. Watch the film and click on the article below to read more.
The story goes all the way back to 1937. To the family business Bremnes Fryseri on the island of Bømlo in Hordaland. Here, the plant received wild salmon, lobster, and later also mackerel, crab, shrimp, tunny and pollock. In the 1950s, founder Olav Svendsen Sr. started experimenting with farming trout. He wanted to create an industry that would generate jobs along the coast, and thereby laid the foundation for salmon farming, an endeavour which would make fresh, healthy, high-quality salmon available to a wider range of consumers.
The people at Bremnes were pioneers in their commitment to salmon aquaculture. Today, we have activities in 24 locations in nine municipalities in Hordaland and Rogaland. SALMA is one of Norway’s most recognised brands, and represents a world-class salmon product. This is all thanks to the founder’s son, Olav Svendsen Jr., and the dedicated employees behind the development of SALMA.
Delivering fresh, prime quality salmon year-round requires continuous improvement. Back in the mid-1990s, Bremnes Fryseri developed a completely new method in cooperation with the Agricultural University of Norway, which led to reduced stress levels for the salmon and extreme freshness, which in turn resulted in even better quality. The “cold fish” method entails that the fish is first cooled naturally in cold seawater, then processed immediately after it is pulled from the water. This was a revolutionary approach in the 1990s. Today, the method is recognised by the entire aquaculture industry.
The method garnered interest from several potential partners. In the early 2000s, TINE BA contacted Bremnes Seashore. Together, they wanted to develop a brand new sausage product made from fish. The idea was to make cured salmon that would resemble a normal cured sausage. It would look just like a traditional product, but contain something new; raw, fresh, high-quality salmon. The product was launched in Norway and abroad, but was not successful in the competition with established salmon products or traditional sausage products. However, when an American customer exclaimed “Never mind the sausage, where can I get that damn fish?”, it became clear that the potential was in the raw material, not the cured salmon.
An unsuccessful product became the start of the SALMA success story – the pure, Norwegian quality salmon. The innovation behind natural cooling was continued, but the product was changed. Some believed the creators of SALMA were in over their heads when they wanted to launch salmon loin fillets to Norwegian consumers, but Olav Svendsen Jr. and Co. knew that bold innovation pays off. The cooperation between Bremnes Seashore and TINE led to the establishment of Salmon Brands in 2004, and SALMA was launched in the Norwegian market in 2006. In March 2012, Bremnes Fryseri took over control of all the company’s operations.
SALMA is currently one of Norway’s most recognised brands, and represents a world-class salmon product.
