At Sea Tales, we are absolutely hooked on fish and determined to shake up the seafood industry with a splash. Since we started in 2014, we are dedicated to change the world of fish to ensure the enjoyment of seafood now and in the future. Every day, our work evolves around this mission. With our yearly Mission Report we keep track of our impact and more importantly, share this with you. Read all about our mission highlights of 2022 below, or view or download the full Mission Report here!
In 2022, we launched our collaboration with the most sustainable salmon farm worldwide! Bringing this delicious salmon from Kvaroy Arctic to you!
We have realized our first insights into our carbon footprint. Starting with the carbon footprint of our skipjack tuna in water from Bije and crew.
We introduced brand new appealing handwrap designs in our sardine packaging in the US.
We have welcomed 5 new partners in the USA and 5 new partners in Europe. Bringing us to a total of 4000+ stores in 6 different countries where you can buy our delicious and sustainable seafood!
In total, we sold 7.151.874 products. That is 2% more than last year! Of course, 100% of these were MSC or ASC certified. And 18% of all products sold were Fair Trade certified.
To increase our impact in the coming years, we welcomed 281 new members to the Fish Tales investors cooperative with our public investment round.
Just before the new year started, the COVID travel restrictions were lifted. We were over the moon, as it allowed us to visit the fishing communities again to reinforce our collaboration and celebrate milestones. Starting with Bitung, Indonesia where we celebrated the continuation of the Fair Trade certification for Bije and his crew. This means that both the fishery, cannery and Fish Tales can proudly carry this certification into the coming year, hurray!
And the good work did not go unnoticed: in the December edition of Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin a captivating ten-page story was published, highlighting the exceptional pole and line tuna fishery and the community in Bitung. It made us feel so proud! The visits also allowed us to gather new content and produce inspiring Sea to Plate videos, short documentaries and stories from the fisheries to share with you. Furthermore, exciting new plans for improvement projects with the Fish Tales Foundation were drafted.
In 2022, we also made some significant steps in broadening our approach on impact. Starting with measuring our carbon footprint and submitting our impact assessment to join the B Corp network. By being more active on (social) media channels through tv-shows, cooking video’s, newspaper and magazine contributions and political lobbying we have increased our visibility in the public debate.
Our mission to change the world of seafood has driven us to the USA in 2019. Starting Sea Tales was the only way to change the largest consumer market of canned tuna in the world, where at least 90% is sourced unsustainably. Can you believe it? In particular in 2022, Sea Tales experienced a tremendous growth. Accelerated by the ability to visit many stores, expo’s and clients again we have expanded our customer base, diversified our product offerings and secured prominent shelf space in some of the most valued retailers in the USA.
To further expand the Fish Tales and Sea Tales family, we started another investment round in July. We enabled individuals to become a co-owner of our company and thereby actively contribute to changing the world of seafood. Meanwhile, a growth of our company results in financial returns as well for each investor. Who wouldn’t want to be part of our fantastic mission? In turn, the investments allow us to fuel our impactful journey, both in the USA and Europe.
Our exploration in the USA also brought us something else: crossing paths with Alf Knutsen and his revolutionary Kvarøy salmon. Intrigued by their commitment to sustainability and our shared vision for the future of our oceans, we established a great cooperation. Long story short: we are proud to announce that we have added this incredible product to our assortment!
However, after all these successes we must also acknowledge that 2022 can easily be described as the most challenging chapter in our young history. Like everyone else, we felt the impact of global currents. The tide turned with the end of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, resulting in sky-high inflation. With rising prices in literally every step of our supply chains, we had no choice but to also increase our price to be able to keep us up and running. However, we have managed to keep our price increases to a minimum to keep sustainable seafood within reach of as many consumers as possible.
Behind the scenes, Fish Tales and Sea Tales also experienced some transformations. We have re-organized the team structure and welcomed some new and incredibly dedicated team members. Also, we have set the first steps in setting up a team based in the USA! Together, we are determined to ensure delicious seafood for now and the future!
All in all, it has been an eventful year. We hope that this Mission Report of 2022 provides you with a comprehensive understanding of our impact, the strategies we employ, and the exciting opportunities that await us. Let’s continue our journey to change the seafood industry!
