Salmon hot dog puts Kvarøy on a roll
Kvarøy Arctic, the United States subsidiary of Norwegian salmon farmer Kvarøy Fiskeoppdrett AS, has earned second place in a category of the annual World’s Most Innovative Companies awards run by Fast Company magazine – thanks partly to a hot dog.
The contest’s judges were impressed with Kvarøy’s salmon sausage, launched in August 2020, that uses the trim and scrape meat from its fish that previously went to waste.
“Each 100-gram frozen hot dog provides the weekly recommended amount of omega 3 fatty acids at an affordable price point,” wrote the magazine, which included the company in its Small and Mighty (fewer than 10 employees) category.
Food-bank kitchens
Fast Company also complimented Kvarøy’s business performance and social responsibility.
“In 2021, the Norwegian company delivered more than 20 million pounds (9,000-plus tonnes) of fresh and frozen salmon and salmon dogs and burgers, and estimates that its revenue almost doubled to $80 million from a year earlier,” wrote the magazine. “It also donated up to 4,000 pounds of salmon a week to food pantries and food-bank kitchens in the US.”
In a press release marking its achievement, Kvarøy also announced that it was expanding its “small and mighty” US team, promoting strategic development officer Jennifer Bushman to chief marketing officer and appointing a new vice president of finance, Freddy Olcese.
Olcese, whose cv includes 11 years as the chief financial officer of salmon farmer AquaChile and four years as the controller for Costa Rican fish farmer Rainforest Tilapia, will serve as a strategic partner to the CFO of Kvarøy Arctic and Kvarøy Fiskeoppdrett AS.
Kvarøy chief executive Alf-Gøran Knutsen said: “At Kvarøy Arctic, we are always in forward motion. That means evolving and continuously improving. The journey never ends. This includes the expansion of our US team to fit the growing needs of Kvarøy Arctic.
“As CEO, I grow by surrounding myself with people that will inspire and support us in reaching our goals. It is why I am so honoured that Jennifer and Freddy have agreed to take these leadership positions as we look to the future.”
