Chicken of the Sea International’s parent company, Thai Union International, has announced the acquisition of Port Washington NY-based Empress International Ltd. Empress, which recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, is one of the leading importers and distributors of frozen shrimp and other fish and shellfish in the United States.
The combination of Chicken of the Sea and Empress will expand the branded distribution of Chicken of the Sea’s shelf-stable seafood product line—canned and pouched tuna and salmon, and canned crab, shrimp, oysters, and other seafood—to include frozen and fresh varieties.
This arrangement will also foster growth of the “Xcellent” brand offered by Empress International to the nationwide foodservice market. Besides shrimp, Empress’ product line features crab, mussels, Chilean sea bass, salmon, halibut, pollock, mahimahi, sole, tuna, cod, and black cod, and is sold at both foodservice and retail channels.
The combined companies’ US seafood sales revenues are more than $550 million annually.
