The Seamark Story

Established in 1976, Seamark now has a group turnover of $250 million. Seamark’s motto is “Quality and Service” with a traditional family business ethos to commitment, quality and service. Seamark is now one of the leading processors and exporters of a wide range of seafood products serving a huge customer base worldwide.

The Seamark story is one of determination, drive and a quest for quality that has created an operation committed to delivering the finest products to dining tables across the globe.

The brothers’ talent for innovation – a talent that has kept today’s Seamark at the forefront of the food processing sector and stands it in good stead for an even brighter future. It was that talent that has also driven Seamark’s expansion as both an importer and an exporter. Today Seamark is the UK’s leading importer and processor of shrimps.

Seamark processes a staggering million prawns every hour. They are shipped in mainly from Bangladesh before being exported across the globe. The company was quick to see the potential that existed in foreign markets using its varied and reliable overseas sources.

Seamark’s exports accounted for more than 84% of sales and export sales have consistently remained above 69% ever since. And around 50% of all shrimps exported from Britain come from Seamark’s processing operations.

In 2000, Seamark opened a fully-fledged processing plant at the bustling Bangladesh port of Chittagong. It proved to be a royal occasion for all concerned and a day still remembered by all who attended. The £10 million investment in the seafood plant, which has created 1,000 new jobs for the local community, was officially opened by The Princess Royal.

Seamark offshoot, IBCO Food Industries opened in 2006, created to meet to the increasing demand for vegetables, fruits, finger foods and seafood. Its operation in Bangladesh processes products ranging from its traditional shrimps to poultry, dry foods, finger foods, frozen fruit and vegetables.

The group’s other operations in Bangladesh include a shrimp processing line, a hatchery and its own deep sea fishing fleet. It fishes the warm waters of the Bay of Bengal, operating out of Cox’s Bazar, the port and tourist resort which sits on a dramatic coastline 150km south of Chittagong and is famed for having the world’s longest natural sandy sea beach.
The investment and expansion continued.

In 2006, Seamark spent almost £12 million in its new headquarters in New East Manchester. It is also home to the acclaimed Vermilion restaurant, which delivers a world-class dining experience to more than 2,000 visitors a week and the high-class cocktail lounge bar and one of Manchester’s top venues, Cinnabar. The state-of-the-art processing plant that Seamark has created here led to more than 130,000 sq ft of new production space and again allowed the company to expand into new markets

Today Seamark is a £125million worldwide operation and its wide-range of foods make their way to the finest kitchens as ingredients in dishes enjoyed by diners in the best-known hotels and most revered restaurants.

From the Bay of Bengal, home to its very own deep sea fishing fleet, to its purpose-built modern headquarters in New East Manchester and its distribution operation in Brooklyn, New York, Seamark and its staff of 2000 across the globe are committed to delivering the very best. The result is a range of more than 1,000 products, from seafood and poultry to fruit and vegetables, used and recommended by chefs creating great dishes day after day. It is also an unrivalled global reputation for quality. Its range of products can be found in supermarkets across the world. Seamark’s customers include many of Europe’s leading multiple retailers, food industries, wholesalers and distributors, including Carrefour, Metro, Makro, Costco and Brake Brothers. Its products are also used in the catering operations of a number of major airline operators.

It is also home to the acclaimed Vermilion restaurant, which delivers a world-class Thai Fusion dining experience to more than 2000 visitors a week and is now one of Manchester’s top venues.

The company’s excellence in the field has been recognised with a Queen’s Award for Export Achievement and an OBE for its chairman Iqbal Ahmed, given for Services to International Trade.

How it all began

To discover just how Seamark became the global brand it is today and to discover the secret of its success, it is necessary to take a trip back in time to the mid-1970s. The Seamark story stretches back more than three decades and it greatest of determination and vision. It is also the journey of a company created from humble origins that has become a world leader with a host of achievements and landmarks – including introducing the Tiger Prawn to UK palates!

Ideally located, Seamark has easy access across the UK and mainland Europe. It is one of the largest cold storage and distribution centres in the UK and the site also includes Restaurant Wholesale, a successful cash and carry operation supplying the catering trade. The operation specialises in an extensive range of products in the ethnic food market, including Asian and Oriental.

Seamark continues to develop new markets across the world, including the massive opportunities that exist across the Atlantic. To meet those challenges it has built a 10,000 sq ft distribution and cold storage plant in bustling Brooklyn, New York, serving a network that can supply the whole of the USA and Canada with its high-quality produce in an operation co-ordinated from Seamark’s North American headquarters in neighbouring New Jersey.

Seamark does not stand still. In 2010 it confirmed plans to go ahead with an ambitious £3million expansion plan at Vermilion. It unveiled its vision to create one of UK’s largest and most luxurious banqueting suites capable of hosting weddings, conferences and exhibitions for as many as 800 guests. It called in celebrated Portuguese designer Miguel Cancio Martins, who was responsible for Vermilion & Cinnabar’s interiors, to create a venue attractive for large weddings, major conferences and art exhibitions. Martins is the designer behind some of Europe’s most stylish bars and restaurants, including the legendary Parisian nightspot the Buddha Bar.

The Seamark Story