Icelandic omega-3 firm doubles capacity
Lysi bulk materials sales and marketing director Agusta Hardardottir said demand in its key markets like Asia and Europe had pushed the firm to maximum output of 7500 metric tonnes per year.
From April this year it will be able to process 20,000t of mainly cod and tuna to produce fish oils for an output of 15,000t for the global food supplements industry as well as the pharma and animal nutrition sectors. The company does not yet operate in the food space. “We are not interested at the moment,” Hardardottir relayed. "That is a different game altogether."
She said the company’s sales were split between Europe (60%), Asia (19%), North America (10%), and the rest of the world (11%).
Lysi supplies fish oils and omega-3s in bulk form, sourcing its omega-3 ingredients from South American anchovy fisheries, as do most omega-3 suppliers.
It also manufactures a range of supplements under its own company name that feature omega-3 supplements, cod liver oil and combination products.
The company praised certain relationships that had helped drive sales like that with a Coloroda-based distributer, ArcticSource1.
Its purchase of Norwegian cod liver operation, Maritex, had provided it with a new channel of supply, said CEO, Katrin Petursdottir.
“[That] secured long-term access to local arctic raw material which will be processed at our expanded plant in Iceland,” said Petursdottir.
“Rapidly increasing demand for our products made this decision easy.”
GOED praise
Hardardottir said membership of the international EPA and DHA-focused, omega-3 trade group GOED had benefitted it greatly.
“We have been a member for 5-6 years,” she said of the Salty Lake City-based organisation. “They have helped a lot in developing the global market and have provided great support for us as a producer. They have their technical committees and are involved in regulatory development.”
Lysi won President of Iceland’s Award for Export Achievement in 2007 for a, “unique achievement in the sales and marketing of marine lipid products and for the vision the company demonstrates in product development and for the build up of knowledge and expertise in its field.”
Omega-3 forms have won EU health claims in heart and eye health.
