Ouwehand Visverwerking

What Ouwehand Visverwerking does

Ouwehand Visverwerking B.V. is a Dutch seafood manufacturing company founded in 1905 and headquartered in Katwijk, Netherlands, specializing in herring processing with more than 100 years of craftsmanship. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of PP Group, a Katwijk-based international fishing concern with over 10,000 employees that controls the entire supply chain from wild catch (via its own modern fishing vessels) to on-board deep-freezing, cold storage, processing and delivery. Ouwehand's proprietary technology combines modern at-sea freezing to preserve freshness immediately after catch with the traditional 'haringkaken' curing technique — leaving the pancreas intact for natural ripening — and an in-house smokerij that produces signature products including 'brado', steamed and smoked mackerel, and bokking. The Katwijk processing facility is IFS-certified, and the company holds MSC, ASC and GTS chain-of-custody certifications, with herring almost exclusively MSC-certified.

The product portfolio spans nine categories and 19+ named SKUs: maatjesharing and Hollandse Nieuwe herring, pickled products (zure haring, rolmops, zoetzure haring, braadharing partjes), smoked products (rookwaren), fresh fish, frozen fish products, pre-fried fish, shellfish, sauces/oils/marinades/herbs, and convenience products such as paella, soups and ready meals. Ouwehand serves four customer segments: retail and fish retail (supermarkets, fishmongers), horeca and traiteurs (requiring customised products, packaging and logistics), export and international (Dutch-style herring and fish specialities worldwide), and other fish processing companies purchasing semi-finished products. Distribution within Netherlands and Germany runs on the company's own truck fleet, while international exports are handled through specialized partner networks.

The business model is B2B, generating revenue through one-time sales of processed fish products to retail chains (including Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Dirk, Dekamarkt, Vomar, Plus, Coop, Poiesz, Hoogvliet and Spar), fish shops, and the horeca sector, with no public pricing — business customers must register via the B2B webshop to access pricing and order. Eight named account managers handle retail, export and wholesale relationships, and a dedicated B2B onboarding form supports new customer acquisition. The company markets through its website (with 30+ recipes), Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, and relies on retail partner logos as social proof on product pages.

Name

Ouwehand Visverwerking

Legal name

Ouwehand Visverwerking B.V.

Website

https://ouwehand.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1905

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ouwehand Visverwerking is a Dutch seafood processor (founded 1905) specializing in traditional maatjesharing and smoked fish, supplying supermarkets, fish shops, horeca and export markets across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany as a subsidiary of PP Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Seafood Processing

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (311710), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)

akta.pro primary industry

Smoked, Cured & Salted Seafood (Lox, Kippers, Bacalao) (AFANADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Marinated & Seasoned Seafood (Value-Added Raw/Par-Cooked) (AFANALAE), Smoked & Cured Seafood (Salmon, Herring, Lox) (AFANALAD), Shellfish Value-Added Products (Shucked Oysters, Mussels, Clams; Cooked/Marinated) (AFANALAK)

Keywords

• Fish processing
• Herring products
• Smoked fish
• Seafood manufacturing
• Pickled fish

Headquarters

HQ city

Katwijk

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fish Product Sales (Retail & Wholesale): Sale of processed and packaged fish products to retail chains, fish shops, and the horeca sector. Products include marinated herring, rollmops, smoked fish, frozen fish, shellfish, sauces, and convenience products. Revenue generated through direct B2B sales with own fleet delivering across Netherlands and export to international markets.
2. B2B / Private Label / Custom Solutions: Tailored product solutions, custom packaging options and product choices for individual business customers. Personal service and customisation offered for product choices, packaging options and logistical solutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ouwehand Visverwerking is a Dutch fish processing company that catches, processes, marinates, smokes and freezes a comprehensive range of fish products — most notably maatjesharing (Hollandse Nieuwe and year-round herring), pickled products (zure haring, rolmops, zoetzure haring), smoked fish (including the signature brado), fresh fish, frozen seafood, shellfish, herring and mussel salads, sauces/marinades and convenience meals. It supplies retail chains, fish shops, horeca and traiteurs in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, with additional export worldwide, leveraging PP Group's integrated catch-to-delivery supply chain.

Product overview

Ouwehand Visverwerking is a fish processing company with over 100 years of craftsmanship, offering a comprehensive portfolio of herring products (maatjesharing), pickled products (zuurwaren), fresh fish, frozen fish products, smoked fish (rookwaren), pre-fried fish, shellfish, sauces/marinades, and convenience products. The company supplies retail, wholesale, and fishmongers across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Core products include Hollandse Nieuwe herring (seasonal), pickled herring in various sizes (zure haring, rolmops, zoetzure haring), herring and mussel salads, fresh and frozen fish, and smoked specialties like the proprietary 'brado'. The products are MSC and ASC certified for sustainability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Maatjesharing (Herring products) Herring products including Hollandse Nieuwe (seasonal), year-round maatjesharing, cleaned herring fillets, and herring in bulk for professional fishmongers. MSC-certified and processed using traditional techniques.
• Zuurwaren (Pickled products) Pickled products including silver onions for Hollandse Nieuwe and pickled cucumbers for fried fish dishes, prepared with a balanced brine of vinegar, herbs and spices.
• Zure haring (Pickled herring) Pickled herring in various sizes (355g, 515g, 870g) with natural vinegar, salt, spices and dried carrot, sourced from Atlantic herring (FAO 27).
• Rolmops (Pickled herring rolls) Rolmops (pickled herring rolled with pickle) in 355g and 515g sizes, consisting of herring with cucumber, onion, and natural vinegar marinade.
• Zoetzure haring (Sweet and sour herring) Sweet and sour herring in 355g packaging with sugar, natural vinegar, mustard seeds, and spices.
• Braadharing partjes (Fried herring pieces) Fried herring pieces in 355g with 180g net drain weight, breadcrumbs, vegetables and spices.
• Mosselen in natuurazijn (Mussels in natural vinegar) Mussels in natural vinegar, 355g packaging with 200g net drain weight, made from Pacific mussels.
• Leverworst in natuurazijn (Liver sausage in natural vinegar) Liver sausage in natural vinegar, 515g packaging made with pork liver (34%), pork collagen, and spices.
• Rijke haringsalade zoetzuur (Marinated herring salad sweet-sour) Marinated herring pieces in sweet and sour sauce, 250g. Contains 55% herring with mayonnaise-based sauce.
• Rijke haringsalade kerrie (Marinated herring salad curry) Marinated herring pieces in curry sauce, 250g. Contains 50% herring with curry powder (9%) and cream sauce.
• Rijke mosselsalade room (Mussel salad in cream sauce) Cooked mussels with light smoky flavor in cream sauce, 250g. Contains 50% mussels from Chile.
• Verse vis (Fresh fish) Fresh fish including salmon, cod, and sea bass available daily in various quantities through reliable fish suppliers.
• Diepvries Visproducten (Frozen fish products) Frozen fish products including Black Tiger shrimp, shrimp nuggets, croquettes, plaice, hake, and more.
• Rookwaren (Smoked fish) Artisanal smoked fish including steamed and smoked mackerel, bokking, and the famous 'brado' invented by Ouwehand, smoked in their own smokehouse.
• Voorgebakken Vis (Pre-fried fish) Pre-fried fish products including pollack, cod pieces, and lekkerbekken (breaded fish) in various sizes and grades.
• Schaal en Schelpdieren (Shellfish) Shellfish including mussels and oysters from reliable suppliers.
• Sauzen, Olie, Marinades en Kruiden (Sauces, oils, marinades and herbs) Sauces, oils, marinades and herbs including rich ravigotte sauce and Spanish marinades for shrimp to elevate fish dishes.
• Gemaksproducten (Convenience products) Convenience products including paella, soups and ready meals prepared with artisanal recipes using the best seafood ingredients.
• Overige producten (Other products) Other products in the assortment for customers seeking specific items not listed in main categories.

Quantifiable outcome

• MSC-certified herring ensures sustainability compliance for retail customers
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• PP GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPP Group is the parent company of Ouwehand Visverwerking. Based in Katwijk, PP Group has grown into a worldwide fishing concern with over 10,000 employees. It owns fishing vessels, cold storage facilities and processing factories, providing Ouwehand with full supply chain control from wild catch to delivery.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Royal Greenland: One of the world's largest vertically integrated seafood companies with wild-caught and farmed operations. Highly comparable as a broad incumbent offering processed/prepared seafood (fillets, smoked, breaded) into European retail and foodservice — overlapping with Ouwehand's product mix but at materially larger scale.
• Thai Union Group: Global seafood giant (Chicken of the Sea, John West, King Oscar, Mareblu). Broad incumbent competitor with major European branded and private-label seafood presence; competes most directly on canned, smoked and convenience fish categories where Ouwehand also operates.
• Bolton Group (Bolton Food / Rio Mare): Italy-based multinational with major canned and preserved seafood brands (Rio Mare, Saupiquet). Broad incumbent that competes for shelf space in European supermarkets across tuna, sardines and pickled seafood categories adjacent to Ouwehand's range.
• Princes Group: UK-based international food and drink group with substantial canned and processed seafood operations across Europe. Broad incumbent peer overlapping with Ouwehand on ambient/pickled fish SKUs and supermarket private-label supply.
• High Liner Foods: North American seafood processor focused on value-added frozen and prepared seafood for retail and foodservice. Broad incumbent peer on prepared/frozen fish SKUs that increasingly cross the Atlantic in European retail programmes.

Direct peers

• Deutsche See: Germany's largest seafood processor and distributor, headquartered in Bremerhaven with own fleet, processing and retail/horeca distribution. Direct competitor in German retail shelves with overlapping smoked, pickled and convenience fish SKUs.
• Pickenpack Seafood: German seafood processor specialising in shrimp, prawns and prepared fish products for European retail and foodservice. Direct peer on prepared/convenience seafood into the same German retail customer base that Ouwehand supplies.
• Jan Bakker & Zn. Dutch herring and seafood specialist with comparable focus on maatjesharing and traditional Dutch fish preparations. Direct peer at similar scale, serving overlapping Dutch and Belgian retail and horeca customers.
• Visscher Seafood: Dutch fish processor focused on herring, mackerel and smoked specialties supplied to retail and foodservice across Northwestern Europe. Direct competitor on the same category (Dutch-style herring and smoked fish) with overlapping customer base.

Others

• Norwegian Seafood Council (industry context only): Industry body, not a commercial competitor. Included only because Ouwehand sources herring from Norway via annual buyer trips; the Council influences sustainability/MSC certification frameworks and trade promotion relevant to Ouwehand's sourcing and export strategy.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ouwehandvisverwerking
• LinkedInnl.linkedin.com/company/ouwehand-visverwerking-b-v-
• Instagraminstagram.com/ouwehandvis/?hl=en

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Ouwehand Visverwerking