What Cornelis Vrolijk does

Cornelis Vrolijk is a fifth-generation Dutch family fishing business founded in 1880, vertically integrated across the full seafood value chain: capture, farming, processing, and trading. The company operates approximately 2,000 employees worldwide through more than 15 wholly-owned subsidiaries spanning the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Suriname, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Mauritania. Its product portfolio covers pelagic fish (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting), demersal fish (sole, plaice, dab, gurnard, mullet, squid), tropical shrimp (wild-caught and farmed under the Prim7Stars brand), and Dutch shrimp (peeled at the patented Garnalenpelcentrum Kant facility in Lauwersoog), plus specialty items such as Matjes herring.

The technology base centers on a fleet of freezer trawlers, demersal trawlers, and shrimp vessels equipped with sonar and echo sounder systems, on-board plate freezers that freeze catch within 6-12 hours, Refrigerated Sea Water storage tanks, and a newly developed water spray fishing technique under evaluation as a replacement for pulse trawling. Processing capabilities include internally developed and patented shrimp peeling machines, BREEAM 5-star certified cold stores in IJmuiden fitted with 5,100+ solar panels, and dedicated shrimp farming (Agromarina in Ecuador) plus tropical shrimp processing (Gambastar in Spain). The business is family-owned, privately held, and headquartered in IJmuiden with no public listing or external funding rounds on record.

Revenue is generated through B2B channels on one-time sale terms: fresh demersal fish is landed and sold via the Scheveningen fish auction to European wholesale traders, fish retailers, and foodservice operators; frozen pelagic fish is exported through own trading subsidiaries to West Africa (about 70% of pelagic volume), Asia, and Eastern Europe; tropical and Dutch shrimp move through Primstar, Atlantic Shrimpers Ltd., and Kegge Garnalenhandel; and retail-branded products (smoked mackerel, herring, peeled shrimp) flow to European retail chains through Cornelis Vrolijk Seafood, Dulk Haasnoot Seafood, and Bertus-Dekker Seafood. Daily output equates to roughly 3 million fish meals supplied worldwide, with 600-700 demersal shipments per year transacted at auction.

Name

Cornelis Vrolijk

Legal name

Cornelis Vrolijk Holding B.V.

Website

https://cornelisvrolijk.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1880

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cornelis Vrolijk is a fifth-generation, family-owned Dutch seafood company vertically integrated across capture, farming, processing, and trading of pelagic fish, demersal fish, and shrimp, serving European retail, wholesale, foodservice, and West African protein markets through 15+ subsidiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fishing and Seafood

NAICS

Finfish Fishing (114111), Shellfish Farming (112512), Aquaculture (11251), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446), Fish and Seafood Retailers (44525)

SIC

Fishing, Hunting And Trapping (900), Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)

akta.pro primary industry

Frozen Seafood Meals & Value-Added Seafood (CRADADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crustacean Farming (e.g., shrimp, prawns, crab) (AFAEAAAC), Smoked, Cured & Salted Seafood (Lox, Kippers, Bacalao) (AFANADAF)

Keywords

• Pelagic fish fishing
• Demersal fish catching
• Tropical shrimp farming
• Seafood processing trading
• Herring and mackerel supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Ijmuiden

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Pelagic Fish Sales: Catching and selling pelagic fish (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting) through freezer trawlers. Fish is frozen on board and sold through export markets (West Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe) and European retail/wholesale channels. Major portion exported internationally.
2. Demersal Fish Sales: Catching demersal fish (sole, plaice, squid, gurnard, mullet) through kotter fleet. Fish is landed fresh through fish auction and sold to European restaurants, fishmongers, and traders including subsidiary Bertus-Dekker Seafood.
3. Shrimp Operations: Catching, farming, processing and selling tropical shrimp through Primstar and wild Dutch shrimp through own demersal trawlers and Kegge Garnalenhandel. Includes processing at Garnalenpelcentrum Kant.
4. Fish Processing and Trading: Processing and trading fish products through subsidiaries including Cornelis Vrolijk Seafood (smoked mackerel, herring), Dulk Haasnoot Seafood, Bertus-Dekker Seafood, Welmar Seafood. Products sold from ship to shelf through controlled supply chain.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cornelis Vrolijk is a vertically integrated Dutch family fishing business that catches, farms, processes and trades fish and shrimp. The portfolio covers pelagic species (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting), demersal species (sole, plaice, gurnard, squid), Dutch shrimp, and tropical shrimp, sold through export markets, the Scheveningen auction, and its own processing and trading subsidiaries.

Product overview

Cornelis Vrolijk is a family fishing business founded in 1880, active in the catch, farming, processing and trade of fish, fish products and shrimp. The company operates a family of businesses structure comprising multiple specialized subsidiaries: Cornelis Vrolijk (pelagic/demersal fishing, cold stores), Jaczon (demersal fleet), France Pélagique and North Atlantic Fishing Company (pelagic trawlers), Primstar (tropical shrimp trading), Atlantic Shrimpers Ltd. and Agromarina (shrimp farming), Gambastar (shrimp processing), and processing/trading companies including Cornelis Vrolijk Seafood, Dulk Haasnoot Seafood, Bertus-Dekker Seafood, Welmar Seafood, and Kegge Garnalenhandel. Garnalenpelcentrum Kant provides specialized machine peeling for Dutch shrimp. The company controls the full supply chain from ship to shelf for products like mackerel and shrimp. Key product categories include pelagic fish (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, blue whiting), demersal fish (sole, plaice, gurnard, squid), tropical shrimp, Dutch shrimp, and specialty products like Matjes herring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Prim7Stars: Brand for wild caught and farmed tropical shrimp distributed by Primstar
• Ocean Delight

Products and services

• Pelagic Fish (Herring, Mackerel, Horse Mackerel, Blue Whiting)

Quantifiable outcome

• 3 million fish meals supplied daily worldwide
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments6 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

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Good Fish FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Signed World Oceans Deal with Good Fish Foundation. Collaboration on flyshoot fishery research project to contribute to knowledge about this fishing method. Cornelis Vrolijk was initiator of dialogue between French and Dutch fishermen regarding flyshoot fishing regulation.
• CodipaccoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership in Ivory Coast where Codipac distributes Cornelis Vrolijk's frozen fish products through freezer trucks reaching remote areas. Codipac teaches local populations how to prepare fish for longer storage outside refrigerators, contributing to healthy eating habits in West Africa.
• Wageningen Marine Research (WMR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific research collaboration where WMR observers are taken on board trawlers to monitor and sample catch composition. Data collected is used to estimate fish stocks and advise on quotas. Partnership started in 2010.
• Wageningen University & Research (WUR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partnership contributing to scientific studies on fish stocks, including specific projects on wind farms and underwater cameras for selective fishing. Results published in research papers on flyshoot fishery sampling.
• Dutch Pelagic Ship-owners' Association (RVZ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association where RVZ has its own scientist coordinating various scientific studies which Cornelis Vrolijk vessels and crews contribute to through data sharing.
• ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICES publishes annual catch advice for 200 fish species based on scientific research. Cornelis Vrolijk contributes data and participates in surveys to support quota setting based on Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) principles.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Bakkafrost P/F: Faroese vertically integrated salmon producer with own feed, farming, processing, and sales operations, and family-influenced long-term ownership. Comparable to Cornelis Vrolijk in integrated catch/farming/processing structure and Northern European retail positioning.
• Austevoll Seafood ASA: Norwegian vertically integrated seafood group with pelagic fishing, processing, and aquaculture (through Lerøy). Highly comparable to Cornelis Vrolijk's integrated pelagic-and-demersal model and European retail exposure.
• Ocean Choice International: Canadian vertically integrated seafood company with wild-capture shellfish and groundfish plus processing plants serving North American and European retail. Comparable vertical model and shellfish-processing positioning to Cornelis Vrolijk's Marisa Fisheries and shrimp operations.
• Royal Greenland A/S: Vertically integrated fishing and seafood processor headquartered in Greenland, with own fleet, processing plants, and branded retail products. Mirrors Cornelis Vrolijk's catch-to-shelf structure and Northern European retail focus.
• Lerøy Seafood Group: Major Norwegian seafood group combining wild whitefish catch, salmon farming, processing, and sales across global retail and foodservice. Closely comparable vertically integrated seafood model with European retail as primary channel.
• Pescanova S.A. Spanish vertically integrated fishing and aquaculture group with a branded processed seafood portfolio across European retail. Operates overlapping tropical shrimp processing and demersal fishing in a similar Iberian/Northern European footprint as Cornelis Vrolijk's Gambastar and Bertus-Dekker operations.
• Premier Fish UK: UK-based seafood processor and distributor serving UK retail and foodservice. Comparable to Cornelis Vrolijk's UK processing footprint (North Atlantic Fishing Company) and demersal fish route-to-market through European retailers and fishmongers.

Broad incumbents

• Thai Union Group PCL: Global seafood giant with branded shelf-stable, frozen, and chilled products across North America, Europe, and Asia. Overlaps with Cornelis Vrolijk in value-added frozen seafood and European retail distribution.
• Maruha Nichiro Corporation: Japanese integrated seafood company with global fishing, aquaculture, processing, and trading operations. Comparable to Cornelis Vrolijk as a large, diversified wild-capture and aquaculture player with value-added processing for retail channels.
• Mowi ASA: World's largest Atlantic salmon farmer with vertically integrated farming, processing, and sales operations. While salmon-focused rather than pelagic, Mowi is a direct competitor for European seafood retail shelf space and ESG-driven sourcing decisions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries15 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 Cornelis Vrolijk