Klaas Puul, one of the largest suppliers of peeled fresh-frozen tropical shrimp to European retailers is constantly challenged by retail clients who develop more demanding sustainable sourcing policies that go beyond the requirements in conventional sustainability certification schemes.
Albert Heijn is one of these retailers – the oldest and largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands. Together with Klaas Puul and Albert Heijn, we decided to explore the possibility of cooperating to develop a proposition for Ecuadorian shrimp that could meet sustainability conditions that included strict requirements about the feed used to produce it.
The partnership with Nutreco in driving this ambitious project forward has been a new and inspiring experience for me. The sustainability team's guidance in approaching the business case and value proposition to make it work for every value-chain partner involved was key to our joint success. I'm hopeful that there will be more opportunities for similar collaborations, because these initiatives will help the shrimp industry to secure a resilient future.