Alibaba and Marine Harvest sign distribution deal for salmon in China

Alibaba’s fresh food sourcing platform, Win-chain, has signed an agreement with Marine Harvest to meet the growing demand for salmon in China. 

Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the companies have agreed to combine their efforts and capabilities to create “the most effective supply chain for the distribution of salmon in China.”

Alibaba’s Win-Chain is one of China's’ largest fresh food supply chain platforms and Marine Harvest is currently the world’s largest producer of farmed salmon. 

The companies say that the partnership will help them meet an increasing demand for fresh, high-quality salmon in the country.

“The demand for fresh seafood in China is rapidly growing, and Marine Harvest is one of the most trusted and world’s leading producers,” said Alibaba Group’s President, Michael Evans.

“By partnering with Marine Harvest and leveraging the consumer reach, technology capabilities and logistics support of the Alibaba ecosystem, we will be able to deliver the best-in-class offering of fresh seafood products to consumers across China.”

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Win-Chain and Marine Harvest said they will work closely on supply chain optimisation solutions which hope to help processing and cost-effectiveness.

This month, Marine Harvest opened its first plant in Shanghai, China, signalling its commitment to the Chinese market.

Win-Chain said it will become Marine Harvest's strategic partner by selling fresh chilled salmon products directly from the Marine Harvest’s local processing factory in Shanghai.

In doing so, it aims to become the leading outlet for salmon products in China.

The Alibaba business will also offer consumer insight’s to support Marine Harvest’s branding and communications activities.

Marine Harvest Chairman of the Board, Ole-Eirik Lerøy, added: “China is a very attractive market, and partnering with Alibaba Group and Win-Chain was a natural choice for us.

“We look forward to the many opportunities ahead to deepen our collaboration with Alibaba as we now ramp up our presence in China, for example through our new processing factory in Shanghai.

“We see that Chinese consumers love salmon, and together with Alibaba and Win-Chain we will bring even more fresh salmon to dinner tables in China.”