Name

Herman Smit & Zoon

Legal name

Herman Smit & Zoon B.V.

Website

https://smitstokvis.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1821

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Herman Smit & Zoon is a family-owned Dutch stockfish specialist operating since 1821, supplying traditional air-dried cod (stokvis, klipvis/bacalao, zoutevis) to Dutch and Belgian wholesale/retail customers and direct consumers via its e-commerce webshop.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dried Seafood Products

NAICS

Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging (3117), Fish and Seafood Merchant Wholesalers (42446), Fish and Seafood Retailers (445250)

SIC

Prepared Fresh Or Frozen Fish & Seafoods (2092)

akta.pro primary industry

Seafood Markets & Fishmongers (CRAHAHAC)

Keywords

• Stockfish products
• Dried fish wholesale
• Traditional fish drying
• Bacalao salted fish
• Pet fish treats

Headquarters

HQ city

Rotterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

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 Direct Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales through the company's WooCommerce-powered webshop. Customers can purchase stockfish products in various weights (1kg, 2.5kg, 5kg, 10kg) with prices ranging from €29 to €264 depending on package size. Shipping costs €7.95 for orders within the Netherlands.
2. Wholesale and Retail B2B: Supply of stockfish, klipvis, and zoutevis to wholesalers and retailers, including pre-soaked (geweekt) stockfish delivered fresh or frozen to the trade.
3. Custom Processing Services: On-demand custom processing including soaking stockfish to order (in moten/strips with skin), produced in both fresh and frozen packaging for trade customers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Herman Smit & Zoon produces and distributes traditional Norwegian air-dried stockfish (stokvis), klipvis/bacalao (salted and dried cod), zoutevis (salted fish), and hondenstokvis (dog stockfish) in retail weight variants. The fish is caught in spring, gutted, and hung on outdoor racks in North Norway for approximately three months to dry naturally in the sun and wind, then finished in ventilated wooden warehouses. Products are sold both direct-to-consumer through the company's WooCommerce webshop and via B2B wholesale to retailers, fishmongers, and food-service customers in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Product overview

Herman Smit & Zoon is a specialist in stockfish and related dried fish products with over 200 years of history since 1821. The company offers a focused product portfolio centered on traditional dried fish categories: Stokvis (unsalted sun-dried fish, primarily cod), Klipvis/Bacalao (salted and dried fish), Zoutevis (salted fish), and Hondenstokvis (sun-dried stockfish for dogs). Their retail offering includes dog stockfish in four weight variants (1kg, 2.5kg, 5kg, 10kg) sold through their e-commerce platform, while wholesale products encompass all traditional dried fish categories. The company also provides recipe content for preparing stockfish and bacalao dishes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Stokvis (Stockfish) Traditional unsalted stockfish air-dried in Norwegian sun and wind, primarily made from cod with varieties from pollock, ling, haddock, and tusk. Contains only naturally present substances (no salt, no additives) and is shelf-stable for up to a year when stored cool and dry. Sold to wholesale and retail trade customers.
• Klipvis / Bacalao Fish cut from belly to back, salted and dried, traditionally processed on Norwegian cliffs. Most commonly made from cod (also known as bacalhau). Marketed to Portuguese, Spanish, and Cape Verdean communities for traditional bacalao dishes. Available in bulk and consumer packaging for wholesale and retail customers.
• Zoutevis (Salted Fish) Traditional salted fish product associated with Dutch Brabant and Zeeland regional cuisine. Produced from large cod fillets with skin, following traditional production methods. Available in bulk and consumer packaging for wholesale and retail customers.
• Hondenstokvis (Dog Stockfish) Freshly caught fish dried in outdoor Norwegian sun and wind, with air drying extracting moisture while concentrating nutrients. Cut into convenient pieces suitable for dog consumption. Sold via the company's e-commerce webshop in 1kg (€29), 2.5kg (€69), 5kg (€135), and 10kg (€264) package variants, with a per-kg price discount at higher volumes. Marketed as a natural, additive-free dog treat.
• Custom Stockfish Processing Service Custom processing service for trade customers including soaking stockfish to order (in moten/strips with skin), produced in both fresh and frozen packaging. Pre-soaked (gebeukte) stockfish is delivered fresh or frozen to wholesalers, retailers, and food-service buyers. Allows B2B customers to receive ready-to-cook product, reducing in-house preparation workload.

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 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 highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pescanova S.A. Large Spanish seafood group with a meaningful bacalao (salted cod) portfolio and pan-European distribution. Overlaps with Smit & Zoon's klipvis/bacalao range but operates at much broader scale across multiple seafood categories.
• King Oscar AS: Norwegian seafood company specializing in canned and traditional preserved fish products, including items consumed by the same Southern European and ethnic food customers as Smit & Zoon's klipvis/bacalao range.
• Leroy Seafood Group ASA: One of Norway's largest seafood groups with whitefish processing capability that includes traditional dried cod products. Operates at vastly greater scale than Smit & Zoon and overlaps only partially on the stockfish category.
• Royal Greenland A/S: Greenlandic/Danish seafood company with traditional dried and salted cod products alongside a much wider portfolio of frozen and fresh seafood. Comparable in product heritage (klipfish/stockfish) but materially larger and broader in scope.

Regional players

• Jan van As: Dutch fishmonger chain and specialty seafood retailer serving the Netherlands. Comparable downstream channel to Smit & Zoon's Dutch retail and webshop business, though Jan van As focuses on fresh fish rather than dried/salted stockfish.

Direct peers

• Connemara Seafoods: Ireland-based processor of traditional dried and smoked fish products including dried salt cod, serving retail and foodservice customers across Europe. Closely comparable craft-product positioning to Smit & Zoon's traditional stockfish and klipvis portfolio.
• Espersen A/S: Danish seafood company founded in 1922, producing salted and dried cod (klipfish) and other whitefish products across Europe. Direct overlap with Herman Smit & Zoon's traditional dried cod product portfolio and B2B distribution model.
• Icelandic+ Pet Products: Producer of air-dried Icelandic cod and salmon dog treats sold direct-to-consumer online. Closely comparable to Herman Smit & Zoon's Hondenstokvis dog treat line in product format, channel, and target customer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/smitstokvis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Herman Smit & Zoon