Benchmark Genetics’ Florida team understood the needs of Happy Prawns and were able to ship small batches of high-quality animals.
About the company
- Company: Happy Prawns AS
- Client role: Buys PL shrimp larvae from Benchmark Genetics in Florida
- Industry: Shrimp farming
- The time we’ve been working together: Since August 2020
The company produces tropical shrimp (L. Vannamei) on land at an old shrimp facility in Sirevåg, Norway. They will soon expand their business with a new state-of-the-art facility in an industrial park nearby, targeting a yearly production of more than 500 t high quality and sustainable shrimp.
Today, they receive PL shrimp from Benchmark and grow them in indoor tanks to 20 – 30 gr when they are harvested and sold to high-end customers within retail and HORECA. The company has a sustainability profile with a high focus on animal welfare – hence the name Happy Prawns.
Magnar Hansen, CEO of Happy Prawns, says that their goal is to produce a tasty product based on environmentally safe solutions. In addition to traditional feed, they also feed the shrimp with a “green diet” consisting of spinach. Probiotics are added to the water in the tanks to stimulate the immune system of the animals as a part of their animal welfare protocols.
Challenge
Based in Norway, where there are no breeding programs present, they are obliged to source their animals abroad. The company needs a reliable supply of high quality, robust, fast-growing and biosecure larvae supporting long-distant transport.
We had tested several suppliers in the past, without being confident of support and product quality.
Magnar Hansen, CEO of Happy Prawns
Solution
Benchmark Genetics’ Florida team, understood the needs of Happy Prawns and were able to ship small batches of high-quality animals supporting long-distant transport. Getting in contact with Oscar Hennig, Operations Director and Alison Kiefer, Logistics coordinator, Magnar Hansen got technical advice as well as customer service in addition to fulfilment of his product and logistics needs.
Impact
Even though the last shipment in January was extremely delayed by the airfreight company, the PL’s arrived alive after 90 hours of transport. They have grown extremely well and have reached an average weight of 25 gr after only 90 days. In week 20, these animals will be harvested and sold to high-end consumers in Oslo and Stavanger by the retailer Meny. Retail price will be as high as 1200 NOK/kg (150 USD/kg) for the largest animals.
The growth we have observed is fantastic. We are well ahead of a Spanish company we are benchmarking against, with about 50 days. I would expect even higher performance when we are able to produce the PL’s ourselves locally in the future.
Magnar Hansen, CEO of Happy Prawns
