Company Report: Shining Ocean
Shining Ocean Robert Bleu and Randy Orr of surimi seafood producer Shining Ocean tell Exec how making the right product matters much more than keeping prices artificially low

Innovation is not something that immediately springs to mind in the world of surimi (the Japanese term for minced, washed fish), but Sumner, WA-based Shining Ocean has set itself apart from the crowd thanks to a focus on R&D and a continuing commitment to quality.

Founded in 1985, the company has built its position as a leading manufacturer of crab-flavoured seafood sticks, crab, lobster and shrimp-flavoured chunks and flakes steadily since its inception, and is perhaps best known for the Smart Natural line which now accounts for five percent of national branded surimi sales.

An early adopter of the omega 3 boom, Shining Ocean has in recent years, as President Robert Bleu says, gone from being a seafood processor to 'a health food company that happens to sell fish.'

This change of emphasis has been essential to the company's growth, not least in a market that is facing difficulties in a number of areas.

Always adding value
"The idea was that instead of just making this product cheaper and cheaper, which is where the market was going, we decided to start adding value," says Randy Orr, the company's Executive Vice President and National Sales Manager.

Orr joined the business just as it began to make this transition, and cites 'rising prices and shrinking margins' as problems that will be familiar to anybody in the food production industry. Of course, adding value is not always the easiest process, but, thanks to its willingness to explore new avenues, it has proven itself ready for a challenge.

"Product innovation is how we've been able to meet our margins and grow in the past years," says Bleu. "At this point, our market position is that we are the natural, healthy leader in our industry. We've always been an innovator - we were the first people to actually fortify our products with additional omega 3 fatty acids for heart health."

Leading the way
"We did that with our first product a few years ago, and now over half of the surimi seafood sold at retail in the US is fortified with omega 3. We were also the first to put 'heart healthy' on our packaging and the first to create a no-phosphate, no-artificial flavour product, the first to use tomato Lycopene as a colorant, as well as the first to use sea salt as a flavouring."

It's a sentiment echoed by Orr. "If we were peddling generic surimi products like other companies," he explains, "nobody would really have a compelling reason to buy from us." Both are keen to state that at the company, quality is always the focus.

"And, from what customers tell me, Shining Ocean has been that way since the beginning. It's never been the cheapest, but it's always been one of the best."

As an approach, it's been undoubtedly successful. The company currently supplies around 6,000 supermarkets nationally, including Publix and UK firm Tesco's Fresh 'n' Easy. With this wide amount of coverage, its no surprise that annual revenue is currently around the $25 million mark.

Tough times?
Despite this solid performance it seems that, like many other businesses in the food sector, Shining Ocean's resilience is about to be tested further. While the prices of raw materials have been rising steadily over the last few years, few could have prepared for the spike over recent months which has seen the food price issue move from the trade press to the front pages of the national press. However, says Bleu, it's not all doom and gloom.

"I think the US is in recession," he explains, "and it does mean that people are eating out in restaurants less. The trend for the past few years has been towards people eating out, but I think we're turning away from that and I think this is good for us in a number of ways".

"Convenience is still a huge thing," he continues. "In many households in the US, the husband and wife both work and time can be a real issue, so we're looking at some new items that will move along in that direction. And, of course, quality is really important."

"Through this tough period when prices go up, there are two things that you can do. You can either degrade what you're putting in your package, or you can raise your price. The path of least resistance is always to sell a lower quality product, but that's never been something that we've been interested in."

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