Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global Barcelona once again confirmed its role as one of the world’s key meeting points for the seafood industry.
🇪🇸🌍 1. A powerful tuna ecosystem on display
The show floor brought together a strong tuna ecosystem, from Spanish players such as Balfegó, the sustainable bluefin tuna, FRIME, S.A.U., Grupo Ricardo Fuentes, FRINSA, Petaca Chico, Albacora and WOFCO (Worldwide Fishing Company, S.L.), to international processors and groups such as MARBELIZE S.A., CFTO – Compagnie Française du Thon Océanique sas, Thai Union Group PCL., Nissui and other companies.
🚀 2. Frime’s first Seafood Expo as part of Captain Fresh
One of the key corporate signals was Frime’s first Seafood Expo Global as part of Captain Fresh.
🐟 The move combines Frime’s strong position in premium yellowfin tuna with Captain Fresh’s global seafood platform.
📈 More than a change of ownership, it reflects a wider trend: tuna is attracting global investment, consolidation and platform-based growth strategies.
🛒 3. Retail-ready tuna formats were one of the clearest trends
One of the clearest trends was the rise of tuna in retail- and foodservice-ready formats:
🟦 MAP-packed raw loins
🟦 Chilled portions
🟦 Poke & tartar cubes
🟦 Steaks, medallions and slices
🟦 Sushi/sashimi packs
🟦 Ready-to-use frozen formats
📦 The message was clear: tuna is moving beyond cans, becoming a premium fresh and frozen protein for retail, horeca and convenience channels.
🔴 4. Bluefin tuna continues to drive premiumization
Bluefin tuna remained one of the strongest image drivers at the fair.
🍣 Whole fish displays, premium loins and highly visual stands showed that bluefin is not just a seafood product — it is about quality, origin, cutting expertise, fat content and traceability.
🍽️ 5. Value-added tuna is gaining ground
🟨 Breaded tuna items
🟨 Tuna burgers
🟨 Tuna balls and prepared formats
🟨 Marinated cubes
🟨 Frozen ready-to-cook solutions
🟨 Portion-controlled products for foodservice
🌎 6. A global and segmented category
🟦 Bluefin for premium gastronomy and brand image
🟨 Yellowfin for retail, portions and ready-to-use formats
👁️ Bigeye for differentiated commercial positioning
🥫 Canned tuna through strong shelf-stable players
🛒 Frozen tuna for horeca and international distribution
🫂 Value-added tuna for convenience-driven consumers
OUR TAKEAWAY
Tuna is no longer just a staple seafood product — it is becoming more premium, segmented, branded and format-driven.