Sushi, a new supply company based in the U.K., has big ambitions to be the leading supplier to sushi chains and restaurants.Set up earlier this year as a joint venture between long-time allies New England Seafood (NES) and French company Comptoirs Oceaniques (CO) Joii Sushi is headed up by the managing directors of both companies, with Dan Ahern (NES) taking the role of CEO and Alain Bailly (CO) as COO.
“We have done a lot of work to assess market size and opportunity, and estimate that total spend by UK restaurants on the sourcing of sushi ingredients is more than GBP 100 million (USD 151.1 million, EUR 116.8 million),” explained Dan Ahern. “It is a dynamic market growing at around 15 percent per year, with a strong following by young people, which gives the sushi concept longevity. It is also in need of good quality ingredients, which we are confident we can supply.”
At the heart of Joii Sushi is a supply of fully traceable, high quality seafood, which is what NES has built its reputation on. NES began selling premium grade tuna into the U.K. sushi market a few years ago.
“Tuna is the most challenging species for chefs and is more difficult to get right than salmon. Visual appearance and taste are particularly important, but tuna does not freeze well using standard methods, which can cause discoloration when the fish is defrosted. However, we source super frozen tuna, which was originally developed for the Japanese market, and we have a specialized defrosting process, which enables us to consistently supply a high quality product,” explained Ahern.
Longline-caught yellowfin and bigeye tuna is sourced from a number of areas including the Pacific and Indian Oceans, where it is quickly bled, processed and frozen onboard to -60 degrees within hours of the catch, to preserve its quality. This process prevents dehydration, spoilage and bacteria growth, results in little moisture loss when thawed, and produces a superior quality and ‘freshly-caught’ taste.
The fish is turned into loins at a processing plant in Korea, containerized, then shipped back in -60 degree containers to the U.K. or France for defrosting. Both processes are monitored by NES to ensure quality is maintained.
Ahern explained that the freezing process was required by law, under Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, which states that “food business operators must ensure that certain fishery products, including those to be consumed raw or almost raw, undergo a freezing treatment to kill viable parasites that may represent a risk to the health of the consumer.”
“We know from our research that a lot of U.K. chefs have not been getting a good quality frozen offering but they have been delighted when introduced to our tuna. This not only looks and tastes good, but comes with full traceability, histamine testing, and the reputation of NES behind it.”
Joii has already built up an impressive customer base, serving a number of U.K. sushi chains including ITSU, and is keen to develop the business in restaurants and retail outlets in major European cities. To this end Ahern is building a strong team to take Joii Sushi forward and the company is learning from the experience of CO in supplying sushi chains in Paris.
Steve Barton is leading the development team in the U.K., while Heath Rasmussen is concentrating on the European market. Both have extensive experience in seafood supply to the foodservice market. “They will work closely with the chefs to understand their individual requirements and specifications and deliver everything needed to make top quality sushi,” stated Ahern.
He explained that the retail concept was particularly exciting.
“We hope that we can introduce fresh in-store sushi into the U.K. and are currently talking to retail chains to interest them in the idea. We have been impressed by in-store sushi bars in Paris, where food is prepared fresh for people to eat there or to take away. The taste and texture, particularly of the rice, is very different from sushi prepared on an industrial scale for sale in the chilled retail section,” he said.
“There are significant possibilities for market development in both retail and food service, and we believe that Joii Sushi will quickly become a preferred supply brand,” said Ahern.
