May 5, 2023

Chile-based Multi X to launch antibiotic-free Arka smoked salmon in US during Q2

Puerto Montt, Chile-based Multi X is planning to launch the Arka super-premium brand of smoked salmon, making the product available to premium US grocery retailers during the second quarter of 2023.

The Arka brand will market salmon that are antibiotic-free, Aquaculture Stewardship Council-certified, and Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) 4 Star-certified.

The move comprises part of the company's market segmentation campaign to complement its existing BAP-certified Latitude 45 premium smoked salmon, available since 2017 in US mass retailers, club stores and mainstream grocery stores. The campaign will also include the launch of the My Salmon standard smoked salmon, which will be available to discount stores during the second half of 2023, said Multi X chief sales and marketing officer Fernando Pérez during a trade mission visit from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US-based retailer Giant Eagle.

The Arka brand, launched in 2021, has had sales of fresh and frozen salmon products from that date, and Multi X will now focus specifically on the smoked product, Pérez told SeafoodSource.

Multi X now has over 2,500 employees and operates 44 farms in southern Chile, boasting 97,800 tonnes whole fish equivalent of harvest volume and 101,200 tonnes of processed volume. It is the number one producer of smoked salmon in Chile and is among the top six largest producers of Atlantic salmon worldwide.

- SeafoodSource