SEATREE

What SEATREE does

SEATREE Co., Ltd. (씨트리) is a privately held, second-generation family-owned Korean seafood processor founded in 1977 in Pohang as Bosungsang and rebranded under its current name in March 2020. The company specializes exclusively in sea urchin (성게) food processing and positions itself as Korea's only dedicated sea urchin processor, sourcing 100% wild sea urchin from the East Sea through contracted haenyeo (female divers). Its core product portfolio spans four sea urchin formats — raw, frozen, salted (pickled), and canned — supplemented by half-dried saury (gwame기), Haegakpo (dried crab meat jerky), dried seafood, and fresh/frozen crab and octopus lines. Manufacturing is anchored by a HACCP-certified Guman 2nd factory in Homigot-myeon, Pohang and the headquarters/first factory at 24 Dongbin-ro, Buk-gu, Pohang, supported by a Seoul/Gyeonggi sales office (Seongnam) and a wholly-owned Shimonoseki, Japan subsidiary established in 2016.

The company operates a multi-channel go-to-market covering more than 200 premium Japanese restaurants and sushi bars nationwide, 170+ E-Mart seafood corners, 137+ E-Mart stores for gwamegi, 90+ Home Plus stores, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores, Lotte Hotel, Market Kurly, Coupang, and airport/duty-free retail — alongside direct e-commerce at seatreemall.com and online marketplaces. Pricing is unit-based with volume-tiered discounts of 5–30% on gift sets, plus seasonal promotional pricing (20–30% off canned and frozen crab products). Distribution and competitive differentiation rest on registered trademarks (SEATREE, Homi Promontory Sea Urchin), two granted patents (salted sea urchin and Haegakpo manufacturing methods), industrial design registrations, ISO 9001:2000, HACCP certification, and a Main Biz innovation-management designation. The business has historical export reach into Japan (US$12M in 1993, US$4.73M in 2009) and currently serves both Korean domestic and Japanese markets, with recent exploratory participation in Gulfood Dubai 2023.

Name

SEATREE

Legal name

SEATREE Co., Ltd. ((주)씨트리)

Website

https://seatree.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Short description

SEATREE is Korea's only dedicated sea urchin food processor, founded 1977 and based in Pohang. It produces raw, frozen, salted, and canned sea urchin — plus supplementary seafood like gwamegi and Haegakpo — selling through 170+ E-Mart stores, 200+ premium restaurants, department stores, and export channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Premium Sea Urchin Food Processing

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (3117), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446)

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 industry

Shellfish Processing (Shrimp, Crab, Lobster, Mollusks) (AFANADAC)

Keywords

• Sea urchin processing
• Premium seafood products
• Marine food manufacturing
• Canned seafood production
• Processed seafood distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Pohang

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Processed Seafood Product Sales: Sales of sea urchin products (fresh, frozen, salted, canned), dried seafood, crab products through direct e-commerce, online marketplaces, retail chains, department stores, and food service/hotel supply. Revenue from wholesale and retail channels across domestic Korean market and exports.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SEATREE processes and sells premium sea urchin products as Korea's only specialist in sea urchin food manufacturing, offering raw sea urchin, frozen sea urchin, salted sea urchin pickle, and canned sea urchin. Complementary processed seafood lines include half-dried saury (gwamegi), dried crab meat jerky (haegakpo), canned red snow crab meat, dried fish products, and fresh/frozen crab and octopus, distributed via own e-commerce, marketplaces, department stores, hypermarkets, food service, and export channels.

Product overview

SEATREE is Korea's only sea urchin food processing company with 47 years of history (established 1977). The company operates as a single unified product portfolio focused on premium seafood processing, with sea urchin products as the core offering and supplementary product lines including half-dried saury (과메기), dried crab meat jerky (해각포), dried fish products, and fresh/frozen crab and octopus. The main product categories are: (1) Sea urchin products: raw sea urchin, frozen sea urchin, salted sea urchin pickle, and canned sea urchin; (2) Processed seafood: half-dried saury, dried crab meat jerky; (3) Fresh and frozen seafood: red crab, snow crab, octopus. All products emphasize natural ingredients, traditional processing methods, and strict hygiene control with HACCP certification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Haenyeo's Heart (해녀의 마음): Brand identity used for processed products including gwamegi (half-dried saury) and boiled octopus, representing 'food posted with haenyeo's heart' - the haenyeo being female divers who harvest sea urchin from the East Sea.

Products and services

• Raw Sea Urchin (생 성게알) Fresh raw sea urchin eggs collected by haenyeo from the East Sea and processed with proprietary know-how; no preservatives, colorants, or chemical seasonings. Available in Murasaki (purple) and Bahun (red) varieties, packaged in wooden containers for freshness. Sold to premium restaurants, department stores, and consumers.
• Frozen Sea Urchin (냉동 성게알) Frozen sea urchin processed from wild East Sea sea urchin collected by haenyeo. Can be stored in freezer for year-round sea urchin dishes. Sold to restaurants, Home Plus (90+ stores), and consumers.
• Salted/Pickled Sea Urchin (성게알 젓) Korea's first domestic sea urchin pickled product, made from wild red Bahun sea urchin. Natural food with no preservatives, colorants, or chemical seasonings. Available in 70g bottle and 60g/100g tube formats for gifting and home use.
• Canned Sea Urchin (성게알 통조림) Korea's first canned sea urchin product, made from wild purple sea urchin collected by haenyeo from the East Sea. Long shelf life with room-temperature storage capability. Includes Golden Sea Urchin and Crab-fleshed Sea Urchin varieties.
• Half-Dried Saury / Gwamegi (과메기) Traditional Korean winter delicacy - half-dried saury processed by repeatedly freezing and thawing and then shade-drying. Produced at the HACCP-certified Guman 2nd Factory in Homigot, Pohang. Supplied to 137+ E-Mart locations nationwide.
• Dried Crab Meat Jerky / Haegakpo (해각포) Traditional Korean snack made from steamed red snow crab legs dried naturally for 3-4 days, with 100% red crab meat and a sweet-salty flavor. Shelf life of 180 days from manufacture. Available in 50g packages and gift sets.
• Canned Red Snow Crab Meat (붉은 대게살 통조림) Canned red snow crab meat made from domestic Hong-gui (red crab), hygienically processed with rich seafood taste and aroma. Contains 80% crab meat with additives for preservation and flavor. Launched in January 2021 to expand SEATREE's canned product portfolio.
• Dried Fish Products (건어물) Various dried seafood products including dried squid, filefish fillets (jwi-po), anchovies, dried pollack, and seaweed. Includes gift sets combining multiple dried fish items for sale to consumers and retailers.
• Fresh and Frozen Crab and Octopus (대게/홍게/문어) Fresh and frozen seafood including Budal red crab (caught same day from contracted fishing vessels), snow crab, frozen pre-cooked octopus, and chilled octopus for restaurants. Includes an 80g frozen red crab meat retail pack launched in June 2020.

Named customers12 records

Segments5 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.

• Brondell (Seatrees Partnership)minorOthersBrondell, a water wellness company, participates in environmental initiatives through partnerships including a tree-planting program with Seatrees in East Tanzania. Note: This appears to reference 'Seatrees' (an environmental organization) rather than SEATREE (주)씨트리 (Korean seafood company), though the names are similar.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dongwon Industries: One of Korea's largest seafood and food conglomerates, operating across canned tuna, frozen seafood, and premium branded products. Competes with SEATREE for shelf space in Korean hypermarkets, department stores, and food service channels, but at vastly greater scale and with a broader portfolio.
• Maruha Nichiro: Japan's largest seafood company with a substantial sea urchin (uni) processing and export business, and one of SEATREE's most direct competitors in the Japanese market. Operates the full value chain from wild-catch/aquaculture to branded retail products, mirroring SEATREE's sea urchin focus but at a global scale.
• Sajo Group: Korean seafood processor and food company with deep roots in tuna, salmon, and value-added seafood production. Comparable to SEATREE in supplying Korean retail and food service but with broader product lines and stronger institutional customer relationships.
• Nichirei Corporation: Major Japanese seafood and frozen food company with sea urchin and other premium shellfish processing operations. Comparable to SEATREE in product format (raw, frozen, processed shellfish) and in serving both Japanese retail and food service channels.
• Hansung Enterprise: Korean seafood processor specializing in dried, frozen, and value-added seafood products for domestic retail and export. Comparable to SEATREE in product format (dried seafood, frozen shellfish) and distribution through Korean hypermarkets and department stores.

Broad incumbents

• Thai Union Group: Global seafood leader (Chicken of the Sea, John West) with extensive value-added seafood operations across multiple species. While not focused on sea urchin, Thai Union sets the bar for branded premium seafood in retail and competes indirectly for premium seafood retail shelf and food service mindshare.
• CJ Cheiljedang: Korea's largest food conglomerate with broad branded food and frozen seafood operations. While CJ currently purchases from SEATREE for distribution, it also fields competing premium seafood SKUs in the same retail and food service channels.
• Trident Seafoods: One of the largest vertically integrated seafood companies in North America, with broad value-added seafood processing capabilities. Comparable to SEATREE in operating seafood processing facilities, building branded retail products, and serving food service customers, though at vastly greater scale and across different species.
• Daesang: Major Korean food company (Jongga, Chung Jung One) with a growing seafood and ready-meal portfolio. Comparable to SEATREE in supplying premium Korean retail with branded packaged food, but with a far broader product mix and larger distribution muscle.

Others

• Ottogi: Korean food conglomerate with a wide portfolio of packaged foods, sauces, and ready meals. While not a direct seafood competitor, Ottogi competes indirectly with SEATREE for premium Korean gifting and retail shelf space during holiday seasons.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZfJRgHHCXeBETNyRYxZB2w
• Facebookfacebook.com/seatree1977
• Instagraminstagram.com/seatree1977

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 SEATREE