With facilities in Cork and Bantry, Keohane Seafoods Ltd is a renowned family business run by Michael Keohane and his sons Colman and Brian. Supplying both fresh and frozen products to the national and export markets, the company is continually striving to revolutionise the seafood industry by reducing preparation time and making fish more appealing to the Irish palate and eye.
Keohane Seafoods has enjoyed a meteoric rise since father-and-son Michael and Colman set up their innovative seafood retail product business in Cork in 2010. Eight years earlier, managing director and accountancy graduate Colman opened a retail business, which he expanded to a wholesale business before opening ‘The Fish Kitchen’ restaurant in his native Bantry, which is now run by his sister Anne-Marie.
Michael had been in the seafood business for 30 years and ran Bantry Bay Seafoods, with his sons working alongside him from an early age. When Michael retired from the business in 2007, he and his sons came together to develop a microwaveable meal solution for seafood whereby a consumer could cook a piece of seafood straight from the shelf without having to touch it or pierce the packaging. As well as being easy to handle, the packing process removes all the oxygen, which extends the shelf life of the seafood by a few days.
The Keohane’s “added-value microwaveable products” concept has proven to be a huge hit with Irish consumers, and is now making its mark overseas also. The first company in Europe to produce a microwavable skin-filmed seafood range from frozen, it has grown to employ 85 people in both Cork and Bantry, and has scooped major awards, including the Overall SFA National Small Business Award 2014 and the Irish Quality Food and Drinks Award for its Lidl Inismara Hake Fillet with Bombay Curry Sauce brand in the Fresh Fish category 2015. Keohane’s Dunnes Stores Simply Better Agean Sea Whole Sea Bass with Chilli and Lime Irish Hand Churned Butter, and Lidl Whole Salmon Fillet with Dill and Lemon products, were also Highly Recommended in the same category.
The Irish Quality Food and Drinks Awards, which were presented last September, were open to all food and drink retailers, producers and manufacturers across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and set out to recognise excellence in food and drink product development from a wide variety of companies across Ireland.
“The awards are great recognition for what our whole team has done in creating concepts and flavour. To have one winner and two highly recommended at the Food and Drinks Awards was something we are very proud of,” says Colman, who created many of his recipes in ‘The Fish Kitchen’.
First listed by SuperValu and Dunnes Stores, Keohane Seafoods also supplies to Lidl and Tesco, local restaurants and hotels, while boasting a growing international market. Colman explains: “At the moment, export accounts for between 10 and 15 per cent of our overall business. If we’re to grow further, we need to push the export side more. The Irish market is only so big…”
According to the affable managing director, the decision to first set up Cork’s Kinsale Road “made sense from a supply and selling point of view”. The 20,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility is BRC ‘A’ Grade accredited and has a capacity for 40,000 units per day. Last September, Keohane Seafoods opened a second and larger facility (40,000 sq. ft.) in Bantry, which had previously been a mussel factory.
“We have 65 staff in Cork and 20 in Bantry. The new site in Bantry gives us plenty of scope for expansion. We are constantly investing in our production facilities, marketing and R&D to ensure that our product offering satisfies our customers’ needs. Innovation and creativity, combined with a young and vibrant staff, have been paramount to our success to date,” adds Colman.
The finest Irish seafood, sourced from reputable names such as Castletownbere Co-op, Union Hall and Ballycotton Seafood, go into making Keohane’s 40-plus range of microwaveable, fresh fillet and seasonal products, ensuring honest “tide-to-table” traceability.
The range of fresh, delicious fish fillets and accompanying flavoured butters and sauces are free of preservatives, additives, chemicals, flavourings, stabilisers and GMO ingredients. Keohane Seafoods is committed to changing the Irish public’s perception about fish, while making it easier than ever to prepare it.
“We are constantly researching and developing new ideas and concepts to make our products more attractive to customers,” says Colman.
“The microwaveable idea we came up with is still very much part of our business. But we’re always looking at what we can add to the retail industry, from packaging technology to where the consumer’s problems really are. A lot of people avoid fish because of the bones, but that’s not acceptable anymore.
“Fish was traditionally only eaten on a Friday in Ireland, but by presenting and cooking it differently, and promoting the health benefits, the perception is gradually changing. We have brought products to the market which can be eaten at any time and cater for different people’s needs. We place a huge emphasis on quality, taste and convenience.”
Keohane Seafoods is the trusted seafood label providing an unrivalled dedication to quality, food safety and reliability. You don’t know what you’ve been missing if you haven’t tasted any of their delicious products and recipes yet!
Keohane Seafoods Ltd
Unit 28,
Kinsale Road Industrial Estate,
Kinsale Road, Cork.
Telephone: +353 (0)21 4322059
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 3, March 2016
