What Deutsche See GmbH does

Deutsche See GmbH is a German seafood company founded in 1939 and headquartered in Bremerhaven, with 1001-5000 employees. It produces and markets fresh fish, frozen fish, smoked fish (Räucherfisch), sushi/sashimi-grade products, delicatessen salads, and a broader portfolio of 500+ seafood specialties, combining in-house fish manufacturing (Fischmanufaktur) — including smoking, curing, and processing — with refrigerated cold chain logistics (Frischelogistik) that maintains 0-2°C for fresh and -18°C for frozen product. The company serves three primary customer segments through distinct go-to-market motions: (i) private consumers via a direct-to-consumer e-commerce shop with nationwide 24h express delivery in partnership with General Overnight (GO!) and Click & Collect through its own branches plus pickup partners EDEKA Struve (Hamburg) and Metzgereien in Stuttgart; (ii) gastronomy, hotels, catering, and food service operators through a dedicated B2B division supported by a national branch network and dedicated Fisch-Experten consultation; and (iii) German supermarket retail through fresh fish counters (LEH-Frischetheke) and self-service freezer sections (LEH-Selbstbedienung). The company operates as a privately held GmbH managed by Managing Directors Dirk-Jan Parlevliet and Kai-Arne Schmidt, with delivery reaching both Germany and Austria. Its product platform is supported by certifications including MSC (MSC-C-50070), ASC (ASC-C-00003), DE-ÖKO-001, and Naturland, the #Missionfish sustainability initiative, and an extensive SEO-driven content library of recipes, fish encyclopedia entries, and professional cooking tips. Deutsche See has been recognized with the TOP MARKE 2022, Cooking Award 2023, and Catering Star 2022 industry awards.

Name

Deutsche See GmbH

Legal name

Deutsche See GmbH

Website

https://deutschesee.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Deutsche See GmbH is a German seafood producer and multi-channel retailer, founded in 1939 and headquartered in Bremerhaven, serving private consumers via DTC e-commerce, gastronomy and food service via B2B, and supermarket retail via fresh counters and self-service across Germany and Austria.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seafood Manufacturing & Distribution

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (311710), Fish and Seafood Retailers (445250), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (424460)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092), Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Refrigerated Meat & Seafood (Processed/Packaged) (CRADACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Frozen Seafood Meals & Value-Added Seafood (CRADADAG), Smoked, Cured & Salted Seafood (Lox, Kippers, Bacalao) (AFANADAF), Sushi/Sashimi-Grade & Raw Ready-to-Serve Seafood (Including Poke) (AFANALAI), Seafood Markets & Fishmongers (CRAHAHAC)

Keywords

• Seafood manufacturing
• Fresh fish delivery
• Smoked fish production
• Cold chain logistics
• Frozen seafood supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremerhaven

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. E-commerce (B2C Online Shop): Direct-to-consumer online shop selling fish and seafood products to private customers. Customers can order online with home delivery (scheduled time slots) or Click & Collect at branches/pickup partners. Products include fresh fish, frozen fish, smoked fish, seafood specialties, sushi-grade fish, and delicatessen items. Over 500 specialty products offered.
2. B2B / Business Customers: Supply to gastronomy (restaurants, hotels), food service providers, and retail (fresh counters and self-service in supermarkets). Deutsche See operates dedicated Geschäftskunden pages and a network of branches across Germany to serve business customers.
3. Supermarket Retail Distribution: Products sold through supermarket chains in the fresh fish section (LEH-Frischetheke) and self-service freezer section (LEH-Selbstbedienung). Includes branded products such as smoked fish, herring fillets, and ready-to-cook seafood.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Deutsche See GmbH produces and markets fish and seafood products, including fresh, frozen, smoked, sushi/sashimi-grade, and delicatessen items, through an in-house fish manufactory (Fischmanufaktur) with smoking and curing capabilities. The company sells 500+ seafood specialties to private customers via a direct-to-consumer online shop with home delivery and Click & Collect, and to gastronomy, food service, and retail buyers through a dedicated B2B division and supermarket fresh counters. Its offering is supported by an unbroken cold chain logistics system (Frischelogistik) and multiple sustainability certifications.

Product overview

Deutsche See GmbH is a German seafood company (Fischmanufaktur) operating both B2C e-commerce and B2B business channels. The core offering consists of fresh fish & seafood, frozen fish & seafood, smoked fish (Räucherfisch), sushi & sashimi quality products, and delicatessen salads available through supermarket sales and direct home delivery via their online shop offering over 500 specialties. Their B2B segment serves gastronomy, retail (LEH-Frischetheke, LEH-Selbstbedienung), and food-service customers through branch locations. The company also produces handcrafted specialty products under their Manufaktur line including BBQ boxes, curing boxes, and premium fish platters. Additional offerings include recipe content and culinary guidance through their recipe database and Genussratgeber.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Missionfish: A sustainability and responsibility initiative associated with the company.

Products and services

• Online Shop for Private Customers (B2C E-commerce) E-commerce platform delivering 500+ seafood specialties to private customers' homes with temperature-controlled cold chain logistics and Click & Collect options across Germany and Austria.
• Geschäftskundenbereich (B2B Business Customer Division) Dedicated B2B service supplying gastronomy, retail, and food-service businesses with fish and seafood products, including restaurant supply, fresh fish counters (LEH-Frischetheke), and self-service (LEH-Selbstbedienung).
• Fresh Fish & Seafood (Frischer Fisch & Meeresfrüchte) Fresh fish and seafood products available in supermarket fresh counters, including pure fish fillets and various seafood varieties, distributed at 0–2°C.
• Frozen Fish & Seafood (Tiefgekühlter Fisch & Meeresfrüchte) Frozen fish and seafood products for extended shelf life, shipped at -18°C using dry ice, available in supermarket self-service and online shop.
• Smoked Fish (Räucherfisch) Smoked fish products including Räucherlachs (smoked salmon) and other smoked seafood varieties produced in-house in the Deutsche See Räucherei.
• Sushi & Sashimi Sushi- and sashimi-grade fish products for raw consumption preparation, including the Probier-Bundle Sashimi-Trio (600g, €54.99).
• Delicatessen Salads (Feinkostsalate) Delicatessen salads containing fish and seafood, including fish salads and seafood salads.
• Manufaktur-Spezialitäten (Manufactory Specialty Line) Handcrafted specialty products from Deutsche See's in-house manufactory including Sterneküche (star chef) specialties, fingerfood de luxe, grill specialties, and Rauch & Beize (smoking and curing) products.
• Canned Tuna / Powerfood (Thunfisch in der Dose) Canned tuna marketed as power food for health-conscious consumers, available in 15+ varieties.
• Seafood Tapas (Tapas mit Seafood) Seafood tapas offerings for the supermarket assortment and at-home consumption.
• Fischplatte Nordisch (Nordic Fish Platter) Nordic-style fish platter, approximately 2.2kg, priced at €64.99, sold as a specialty bundle.
• Fischplatte Deluxe (Deluxe Fish Platter) Premium deluxe fish platter, 3.445kg, priced at €149.99, sold as a specialty bundle.
• BBQ-Box Plankenlachs (Plank Salmon BBQ Box) BBQ box with plank salmon including approximately 1kg salmon fillet, 50g rub, and 2 smoking boards, priced at €80.97.
• Beiz-Box Graved Lachs (Cured Salmon Box) Curing box for graved salmon including approximately 1kg salmon fillet and 125g curing mixture, priced at €59.99.

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivery of over 500 seafood specialties to customers' homes with guaranteed freshness
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• General Overnight (GO!)coreTechnology or IntegrationDeutsche See partners with express logistics specialist General Overnight (GO!) for nationwide 24-hour express delivery of seafood products. GO! handles the last-mile delivery to private customers across Germany, enabling Deutsche See to offer guaranteed next-day delivery of perishable products while maintaining the cold chain through optimized shipping cartons.
• EDEKA StruveminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDeutsche See partners with EDEKA Struve for Click & Collect in the Hamburg area. Customers can select from 14 EDEKA Struve branches in the Hamburg city area to pick up their Deutsche See orders. This partnership extends Deutsche See's local pickup coverage in Hamburg without requiring customers to visit a Deutsche See branch.
• Metzgereien Theurer, Setzer & ZornminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDeutsche See partners with butchery chain Theurer, Setzer & Zorn for Click & Collect in the Stuttgart area. Customers can pick up their Deutsche See orders at partner branches, extending local coverage in the Stuttgart region.
• Weingut KlundtminorOthersWeingut Klundt is referenced as a supplier of wine ('Mehr Meer' wine) that is sold alongside seafood products in the Deutsche See online shop, suggesting a co-marketing or cross-selling partnership relationship.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nordsee GmbH: Direct German peer: long-standing German seafood brand combining fast-food/quick-service restaurants with retail seafood counters. Most comparable on geography, German consumer brand recognition, and breadth of fish/seafood SKU exposure to end consumers.
• FrischeParadies: Direct German peer: premium fresh-food specialist (including fish and seafood) serving gastronomy, food service, and discerning retail via distribution across Germany. Comparable on the integrated premium-fresh manufacturing-and-distribution model and German B2B customer overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Iglo Group / Nomad Foods: Broad incumbent: European frozen-food giant (Birds Eye, Iglo, Findus) with large seafood exposure across retail. Comparable on the packaged/frozen seafood processing footprint and supermarket retail channel, but operates at much larger scale and is broader than fish alone.
• Thai Union Group: Broad incumbent: world's largest seafood conglomerate with vertically integrated wild-capture and aquaculture operations, processing, and global branded distribution. Comparable as a multi-channel seafood processor/brand owner, though with vastly greater scale and international footprint.
• Bakkafrost: Broad incumbent: vertically integrated Faroese salmon producer with its own processing, value-added product lines, and global B2B distribution. Comparable on the integrated fish-farming/processing-to-customer model, but specialized in salmon rather than full multi-species seafood.
• Royal Greenland A/S: Broad incumbent: Danish/Greenland seafood harvester and processor with broad product range (cold-water species, shellfish) and European retail/foodservice distribution. Comparable on the integrated harvesting-to-processed-product model and European B2B customer overlap.
• Pescanova SL: Broad incumbent: vertically integrated Spanish seafood producer with aquaculture, processing, branded frozen, and retail distribution across Europe. Comparable on integrated aquaculture+capture/processing/brand model and European supermarket distribution, though focused on Iberia/LatAm markets.
• Young's Seafood: Broad incumbent: UK-based seafood manufacturer and brand owner with frozen, chilled, and ready-to-cook formats across retail and foodservice. Comparable on the branded packaged-seafood portfolio across fresh/frozen/smoked and B2B/B2C channel split, though geographically focused on the UK.
• Clearwater Seafoods: Broad incumbent: Canadian vertically integrated shellfish/seafood harvester and processor supplying retail, foodservice, and Asian markets. Comparable on integrated wild-capture/processing/value-added model and global B2B customer mix, but specialized in shellfish rather than multi-species portfolio.

Regional players

• Frosta AG: Regional player: German frozen-food manufacturer (broader than seafood, but with significant fish/seafood meal range and supermarket retail penetration in Germany). Comparable as a German CPG food manufacturer in the same supermarket and D2C freezer-aisle channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/deutsche-see-gmbh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Deutsche See GmbH