SOUTH AFRICA – Pioneer Fishing, a leading producer of various fish products headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa has acquired canned pilchard brand, Glenryck in a bid to strengthen its position in the local canned fish market.
According to reports by Mordor Intelligence, the Middle East and Africa canned seafood market is projected to register a CAGR of 4.34% during the forecast period of 2020-2025.
The report has indicated that South Africa is the leading market in terms of consumption of canned seafood products across the MEA region with leading brands such as Lucky Star, John West, Glenryck and Saldanha.
Stephen Dondolo, CEO of African Pioneer Group, which owns Pioneer Fishing, said the acquisition of the established local brand was a logical step that supports the company’s future vision and expansion strategy.
“We acquired control of Pioneer Fishing in December 2018. We soon noted that the company would benefit from owning a recognised premium brand to support our future vision and strategy for expansion,” said Stephen.
The Competition Commission of South Africa has officially given a green light to the transaction indicating that it will not pose any threat to the market, reports Fishing Industry News.
Pieter Greeff, CEO of Pioneer Fishing believes that the move will ultimately benefit consumers by diversifying and enhancing their product basket.
“While we’re up against well-established and strong local brands, our strategy and vision are to keep growing the Glenryck name here in South Africa, as well as in other SADC countries.”
The company plans to export Glenryck products to Mauritius, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho, among other nations.
“This acquisition gives us access to the expertise of the human capital behind the building of the Glenryck brand. The team comprises experienced and well-established sales and marketing professionals. We are excited to have them on board,” observes Greeff.
African Pioneer is also exploring other product extensions for Glenryck not only with canned fish, but also frozen fish products and other related product development, and plans to launch the first of these by next year.
“While we’re up against well-established and strong local brands, our strategy and vision are to keep growing the Glenryck name here in South Africa, as well as in other SADC countries.”
Pieter Greeff – CEO of Pioneer Fishing
Already firmly established in the local market, the acquisition will also enable Pioneer Fishing to create more year-round jobs.
In addition to that the purchase potentially strengthens Pioneer’s position in obtaining commercial fishing rights through the fishing rights allocation process (FRAP).
In 2019, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) of South Africa extended current fishing rights by one year to stay valid until December 2021.
The application process for new fishing rights, effective from January 2022, will take place next year.
Pioneer Fishing currently produces canned pilchards at Oranjevis in St Helena Bay, and markets the product under the Sea Pride brand, mainly sold to wholesalers and institutional and school feeding programmes.
Oranjevis also supplies canned pilchards to retailers under private label or house brands.
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