We have good news at Alakrana camp. Echebastar has received the 2019 BTEM Award (Food Innovation in the Basque Country Awards promoted by the Food Cluster of the Basque Country and AZTI) in the best product category. The jury has conferred this award on our company for “succeeding in marketing an innovative product displaying differentiated quality and high added value”. This way they refer to our new line of business: deep-frozen tuna marketed under the brandname Alakrana”
Thanks to this innovation Echebastar has managed to offer its consumers a clear value proposition with competitive differentiation and originality since it has integrated aspects as diverse as compassion, convenience and sustainability” states the 2019 BTEM jury.
Furthermore, this award highlights our determination to offer “a clean product, presented in several formats and recipes such as tataki or smoked tuna”. It also underscores the fact that “thanks to its deep-freezing system and its control of the entire production chain” Echebastar offers “a product which is 100% natural, additive-free, all year round.” The jury goes on to affirm that “throughtout the whole process the company remains committed to sustainable fishing”.
Indeed the jury has also praised certain aspects regarding the environmental protection fostered by Alakrana. This way they have underlined the fact that it is “a product committed to fish stock sustainability and good practices as well as the utmost respect for the environment”.
Echebastar achieved certification to the MSC Fisheries Standard, which guarantees that both its tuna fishing methods and its production conform to the most rigorous standards of sustainable fishing.
Likewise, the BTEM Award highlights our “innovative value proposition that goes all the way from the fishing industry to the end consumer”, which allows us to “articulate, a ground-breaking commitment to sustainable fishing in the entire value chain”.
The jury has also been keen to stress the “significant extended growth” of Alakrana deep-frozen products. Moreover, they have emphasized the company’s “exponential growth over the past four years, accompanied by increased sales, which proves there is a clear interest in this new product”.
The award ceremony will be held on November 21 at the Bizkaia Aretoa in Bilbao.