Case study: Bringing novel ingredients to customers

Nutreco has long believed that the only way to make real progress in sustainability is to work together with other stakeholders in the supply chain. In 2022, one of these partnerships came to fruition after more than two years of efforts.

Klaas Puul, one of the largest suppliers of peeled fresh-frozen tropical shrimp to European retailers is constantly challenged by retail clients who develop more demanding sustainable sourcing policies that go beyond the requirements in conventional sustainability certification schemes.

Albert Heijn is one of these retailers – the oldest and largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. Together with Klaas Puul and Albert Heijn, we decided to explore the possibility of cooperating to develop a proposition for Ecuadorian shrimp that could meet sustainability conditions that included strict requirements about the feed used to produce it.

Skretting developed a formulation that resulted in a feed with a fish in – fish out (FIFO) ratio of close to zero, using fishmeal and oil from processing by-products and novel ingredients from Protix and Veramaris to replace fishmeal and oil gradually while maintaining the feed’s performance.

Klaas Puul, together with its Ecuadorian farming and processing partner, designed a supply chain that could meet all the requirements, including farming in dedicated ponds and full traceability and chain of custody from pond to plate. During the next phase of cooperation, Skretting and Klaas Puul look forward to working closely together to deliver this proposition to additional retail clients in Europe.

The partnership with Nutreco in driving this ambitious project forward has been a new and inspiring experience for me. The sustainability team's guidance in approaching the business case and value proposition to make it work for every value-chain partner involved was key to our joint success. I'm hopeful that there will be more opportunities for similar collaborations, because these initiatives will help the shrimp industry to secure a resilient future.

Jan Bootsman, Senior Purchase Manager, Klaas Puul BV / Sykes Seafood Ltd.

Case study: Novel ingredients