Hilo Fish Company

What Hilo Fish Company does

Hilo Fish Company, Inc. is a privately held seafood distribution, processing, harvesting, and marketing company founded in 1995 and headquartered in Hilo, Hawaii, with an additional sales and operations office in Los Angeles, California. The company sources fresh and frozen seafood — most notably sashimi-grade tuna and other highly migratory species — from a global network spanning more than 20 coastal regions, employing HACCP-certified staff to ensure international food safety compliance. Its differentiated capability is 15+ years of specialized expertise in grading premium tuna to the exacting standards of the Japanese market, supported by an experienced team including General Manager Jamiesen Batangan and Sustainability Director – Business Development Slater Daniels.

The company operates a sales-led go-to-market model, with dedicated regional sales representatives covering East Coast (Bill Stride) and West Coast (Dan Nakauchi, Darrin Komae, Milton Johnson) accounts under Sales Manager Neal Tsunezumi. Customer segments include Japanese market seafood buyers (primary, geography-based) and global wholesale seafood distributors and foodservice providers (secondary, business-unit-based), with a horizontal segmentation approach across use cases. Products are sold through a direct website e-commerce storefront and field-driven B2B sales. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; transactions occur via direct inquiry or cart checkout, consistent with enterprise/wholesale seafood procurement rather than standardized retail pricing.

Financially, the company is private with no disclosed funding rounds, no institutional investors identified, and no revenue or ARR figures publicly available. It employs 51–100 people, holds HACCP certification, and maintains no patents or trademarks in the disclosed record. The company emphasizes sustainability messaging, wild-caught and farm-raised sourcing, and collaboration with local businesses and government agencies on environmental and community concerns as core elements of its value proposition.

Name

Hilo Fish Company

Legal name

Hilo Fish Company, Inc.

Website

https://hilofish.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Hilo Fish Company is a Hawaii-based, HACCP-certified distributor, processor, harvester, and marketer of fresh and frozen seafood, including sashimi-grade tuna and other highly migratory species, sourced from 20+ coastal regions and sold primarily to Japanese-market buyers and global wholesale distributors via regional field sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seafood Distribution and Processing

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (31171), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (424460)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)

akta.pro primary industry

Sushi/Sashimi-Grade & Raw Ready-to-Serve Seafood (Including Poke) (AFANALAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Value-Added Seafood Packaging (MAP/Vacuum, Portion Packs, Private Label) (AFANADAM), Primary Seafood Processing (Heading/Gutting/Deheading; Icing) (AFANADAA)

Keywords

• Seafood distribution
• Frozen seafood wholesale
• Sashimi-grade tuna
• Fresh seafood supply
• Seafood processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Hilo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Seafood Product Sales: Direct sale of fresh and frozen seafood products including premium graded tuna and other highly migratory species. Products are sourced from global coastal regions and distributed to customers worldwide.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Hilo Fish Company harvests, processes, distributes, and markets fresh and frozen seafood products with a particular specialization in premium sashimi-grade tuna for the Japanese market. Its core portfolio includes two primary product lines — Fresh Fish and Frozen Fish — featuring tuna (notably Yellowfin Saku), other highly migratory species, and value-added sub-products such as Scarlet Portion and Goldband, sourced from 20+ coastal regions globally under HACCP-certified food safety standards.

Product overview

Hilo Fish Company, Inc. operates as a seafood distribution and processing company offering two primary product lines: Fresh Fish and Frozen Fish. Their portfolio includes sashimi-grade tuna (specifically Yellowfin), highly migratory species, and other wild-caught and farm-raised seafood. Sub-products include value-added cuts such as Yellowfin Saku, Scarlet Portion, and Goldband. The company specializes in premium tuna grading with over 15 years of expertise shipping to the Japanese market, and sources from 20+ coastal regions globally through HACCP-certified operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fresh Fish

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Honolulu Fish Company: Hawaii-based wholesale seafood distributor offering fresh and frozen seafood to restaurants and retailers across the US. Most direct comparable: similar Hawaii origin, comparable size, overlapping sashimi-grade product offerings and B2B foodservice customer base.
• True World Foods: National seafood distributor headquartered in New Jersey with strong Japanese market ties and extensive sashimi-grade product offerings. Operates distribution centers across the US, comparable to Hilo Fish's East Coast/West Coast sales coverage model and Japanese-focused product specialization.
• Ocean Beauty Seafoods: Pacific Northwest-based seafood processor and distributor with Alaska operations, supplying fresh and frozen seafood to foodservice and retail customers. Comparable vertically-integrated processor-distributor model with similar HACCP-compliant operations and premium product positioning.
• Fortune Fish & Gourmet: Mid-size specialty seafood and gourmet foods distributor serving restaurants, retailers, and foodservice operators across the Midwest and beyond. Comparable scale and B2B distribution model focused on premium, sustainably sourced seafood products.
• Pacific Seafood Group: Family-owned vertically-integrated seafood company with harvesting, processing, and distribution operations across the West Coast. Comparable in its multi-regional sourcing strategy and processing-plus-distribution business model, though significantly larger in scale.
• Catalans Bros & Co. Family-owned fresh seafood distributor in Southern California with multi-generational history, serving restaurants and retailers across the Western US. Comparable family-owned mid-size seafood distributor with similar B2B foodservice focus and regional Pacific coast orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Trident Seafoods: One of the largest seafood companies in North America, vertically integrated from vessel to retail, with extensive frozen and fresh seafood product lines. Larger and broader in scope than Hilo Fish, but operates in the same seafood processing and distribution value chain with overlapping customer types.
• Chicken of the Sea: Major tuna-focused seafood company owned by Thai Union, producing canned and frozen tuna products globally. Comparable tuna product category focus but operates at significantly larger scale and broader consumer packaged goods distribution than Hilo Fish's specialty sashimi-grade business.
• Bumble Bee Seafoods: Major branded seafood company with strong tuna product portfolio, supplying retail and foodservice channels across North America. Comparable tuna category exposure but operates at significantly larger scale with branded CPG distribution rather than Hilo Fish's specialty B2B distribution model.

Regional players

• Neptune's Harvest: Massachusetts-based sustainable seafood wholesaler and processor supplying restaurants, retailers, and institutions in the Northeast US. Comparable mid-size sustainable seafood distributor model with HACCP-style food safety focus, though operating in a different US region than Hilo Fish.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hilo Fish Company