Global fishing company breaks into meat industry

MANILA, Philippines - The Frabelle Group of Companies launched recently a new company, Frabelle Corp., and inaugurated a new production facility that makes it possible for the company to achieve major player status in the fast-moving value-added meat industry soon.

Frabelle is a diversified conglomerate with interests in international fishing business where it ranks among the world’s biggest companies. The conglomerate is also into shipyard business, tuna cannery, aquaculture, seafood processing, cold storage, properties, and import-export trading.

“The area occupied by the plant facility houses our raw materials, processing, and finished goods – all under one roof – without breaking the cold chain,” said Frannie Tiu-Laurel, president of the Frabelle Group.

Tiu-Laurel said the plant is equipped with a computerized system to make sure that the required temperature set for each room is consistently and automatically maintained to “preserve the freshness of our products and maintain food safety.”

With over 50 years of experience in the fishing industry, Frabelle has acquired expertise in keeping food fresh, from the time of harvest until it reaches the consumer. The expertise and technology in keeping the freshness of food intact is the competitive advantage that Frabelle brings into the value-added meats industry.

“We have blended an ideal mix of old world, classic methods of bringing out the best taste in products, with new age, state-of-the-art technology to ensure that the taste we create are locked-in for the best possible meal experiences for our consumers,” Tiu-Laurel said.

With Frabelle Foods as its main brand, the new company has already begun Metro Manila distribution of its popularly priced banner product called Frabelle Foods “Yummy!” hotdogs including variants in major supermarkets and wet markets. Also in distribution are Frabelle’s Christmas hams, bacon, longganiza, and tocino.

Antonio Ding, engineer and senior technical consultant for projects and product development, believes “Yummy!” will be warmly accepted by consumers, calling it the “biggest bite in hot dogs” on account of its bigger size than regular hotdogs in the market. Also, it has a flavorful smoked taste, the result of a natural smoking process using imported wood chips, and distinctive freshness because of an exclusive Fresh-Lock technology.

The launch ceremony was led by Tiu-Laurel, director and general manager Fay Bernardo and other key officials.