Riverence Group is showcasing its products at Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America for the first time in its history, in part thanks to the company’s acquisition of Clear Springs in 2020.
Now the largest land-based producer of trout in the Americas, with operations in the U.S. states of Idaho and Washington, the Riverence Group is showing off some of its newest products at the expo, alongside products from Clean Label Foods’ Fusha brand that uses its seafood. Riverence Vice President of Sustainability Todd English told SeafoodSource the company wanted to use the show as a way to showcase the change it has undergone in the two years since acquiring Clear Springs.
“We acquired Clear Springs in February of 2020, and they had a booth for a number of years. So we wanted to continue that and follow on and show people that Riverence is evolving,” English said.
Part of that evolution is the company’s expansion beyond just trout products, thanks to the infrastructure the company has developed.
“We have a transport infrastructure that is second to none, and we deliver to many fish houses and distributors throughout the United States twice a week, and to every major city in the United States twice a week,” English said. “So it made sense for us to begin working with other products that are out there.”
Among those new products is Best Aquaculture Practices shrimp from India, tuna products from Indonesia, and salmon out of Norway and Iceland.
“Trout has been our first and foremost focus for a long time, and we put a lot of energy and effort into higher quality feed and much better genetics,” English said. “So to bring our customers value, we decided to branch out and bring in additional products that match our values.”
Those values are what attracted the attention of Clean Label Foods, Marwan Moheyeldie, chief of research and development for the Fusha brand, told SeafoodSource. The company is showcasing its products, featuring seafood sourced through Riverence, at the company’s booth at Seafood Expo North America.
Clean Label has, for a decade, devoted itself to producing high-end foods with exemplary standards, Moheyeldie said, and in Riverence, Clean Label found a group with the same philosophies.
“We decided to work with them as a vendor, and then we found out that our DNA is extremely similar,” Moheyeldie said. “We would up joining at the hip where we started utilizing some of their products into our meals.”
Fusha’s products are high-pressure pasteurized and skin-packed, giving it a longer shelf-life, he said. In addition, they are ready-to-eat meals that can be made quickly, and offer a healthy choice for consumers who are looking for a seafood product but are unsure about cooking it.
“The reason we decided to get into that category is because there was an extremely large void,” Moheyeldie said.
The choice of seafood for a clean protein that fit the values of the company was partially assisted by the types of products that Riverence was producing, Moheyeldie said.
The partnership with Clean Label is helping Riverence’s seafood penetrate the retail category, English said, and the companies have been working together to produce quality products with sustainability as the foundation.
“It’s not just about what we can do by right, it’s about what’s right to do,” Moheyeldie said.
Riverence is showcasing its products throughout Seafood Expo North America at Booth #2353.
Photo by Chris Chase/SeafoodSource
