Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group
Motherwell Food Park, Bellshill, Lanarkshire ML4 3NP
Chairman:Michael Laurenson Chief Executive: Stephen Cameron
Tel: 01698 844221 Fax:01698 841723 E-mail: sales@ssmg.demon.co.uk
The Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group has made rapid progress since its establishment in 1992 and is now the leading sales organisation for farmed shellfish in Scotland.
SSMG produces the three main species of farmed shellfish - mussels, oysters and scallops - with mussel production accounting for 75% of the Scottish total. Its 18 members produce at sites along the entire Western seaboard of Scotland, a spread of production that ensures a flow of consistent and reliable supplies to the group's processing plant at Motherwell Food Park in Bellshill.
The formation of SSMG was prompted by an earlier report sponsored by Highlands & Islands Enterprise which indicated a promising future for shellfish production on the West coast. Although the industry has a representative body, the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers, SAOS advised that in addition, a specialist marketing co-operative be set up to focus on market and product development.
Planned production and added value are the two main strategies now adopted by SSMG which supplies the UK's leading supermarkets and catering establishments with a range of fresh and chilled, ready-to-eat products. The wholesale trade, which in turn supplies the catering and fishmonger sectors, is the main outlet for fresh and live product.
Less than ten years ago the marketing of Scottish shellfish was left to the individual producer.
SSMG Chairman Walter Speirs: “We each had our own outlets but with the supermarkets expressing an interest and expansion a definite prospect, it made sense to consider a joint venture. There was little point in competing against each other. By taking the co-operative route, we have managed to balance supply and demand and have gained advantages in processing, marketing and price.”
SSMG members' live product lines are rope-grown mussels, King and Queen scallops and Pacific oysters, all grown in natural conditions and renowned for their high quality. At harvest all three species are despatched by chilled transport to the co-operative's packing, processing, purification and holding tank facility in Bellshill.
Full traceability of products is guaranteed and the factory and members' farms meet the approval of food production technologists from all of SSMG's major customers.
The group has made inroads to the added value market with two of its ready-to-cook mussels products already popular with the main multiples. A third product is ready for launch and there is on-going development and trialling to add value to scallops and oysters.
Market information suggests further consumer acceptance of shellfish products and in addition to planning production cycles at farm level to meet anticipated demand, SSMG is about to commit major investment in premises and plant which will double factory capacity.
SSMG has grown its annual turnover from £300,000 to £4 million and in 2000 was able to pay its first distributable surplus to the members.
Walter Speirs: “What started out as an act of faith is now paying dividends. More importantly, we have demonstrated that primary producers, working in conjunction with skilled management and marketing teams, can build an integrated, secure and successful business.”