Acquisition of Frime
)The integration of Europe’s leading tuna processor adds a critical third pillar to Captain Fresh’s scale in crustacean and salmon, accelerating a vertically integrated global distribution flywheel
Captain Fresh, the global packaged seafood company, today announced the successful closing of its acquisition of FRIME S.A.U. (Frime), Spain’s leading sustainable tuna processor and distributor.
Founded in 1977 and headquartered in La Roca near Barcelona, Frime has established a leading position in premium Yellowfin tuna across Europe. With revenues exceeding €180 million and operations spanning 33 countries, the company serves an extensive network of retail and foodservice customers and holds over 20% share of Europe’s yellowfin tuna market. Its retail division, supported by partnerships with leading European supermarket chains and its consumer brand Køldfin, continues to expand through premium, value-added formats.
By absorbing Frime’s 49-year legacy, Captain Fresh not only expands its multi-species portfolio but also secures a massive processing stronghold in Europe. Frime operates four production sites across seven factories (21,600 m² of productive surface and 20 production lines), with an annual capacity of 15,000 tons of frozen, 9,000 tons of fresh, and 3,800 tons of semi-preserved products. Its recent €50 million infusion into state-of-the-art Barcelona facilities further optimises this capacity and provides a scalable processing backbone that can be rapidly integrated into Captain Fresh’s global sourcing engine.
"We have built a strong market presence in crustaceans through CenSea, Ocean Garden, Senecrus, and Ocean Edge, and in salmon through Koral. Tuna ranks as the next most significant commercial category after crustaceans and salmon, with broad demand across retail and foodservice channels. With Frime, we enter tuna in a leadership position consistent with our approach in other categories," said Utham Gowda, CMD & Group CEO, Captain Fresh. "What makes this more powerful is the strategic flywheel it creates. Bringing the three largest categories on one platform transforms our go-to-market strategy. We can scale Frime’s tuna through our US network while simultaneously introducing our crustacean (shrimp, lobsters) and salmon portfolio deeper into Southern Europe. This multiplies customer share without incremental infrastructure, speeds up product innovation, and unlocks synergies across the Captain Fresh group ecosystem."
Pablo Múgica, CEO, Frime, added, "Frime has spent nearly five decades building a legacy in premium tuna and an infrastructure designed for uncompromising quality and sustainability. Integrating with Captain Fresh gives us a clear path to global reach and a technology backbone to go further. It brings complementary strengths, opening accelerated expansion opportunities for our tuna in the United States, while enabling us to cross-distribute Captain Fresh’s extensive portfolio across our established European retail network."
The Frime leadership team, led by Chairman Salvador Ramon Mateo and CEO Pablo Múgica, will continue in their roles within the Captain Fresh group. This will ensure Frime’s deep customer relationships and market expertise are preserved, while driving the group's forward momentum. The formal close of this transaction cements Captain Fresh’s disruptive position in the industry, furthering the group’s ambition to build the world’s largest vertically integrated packaged seafood conglomerate.