Young’s Seafood could be set to launch a new sub-brand after registering a trademark for the name Spey Valley.
Ironically, Spey Valley is the location of a Young’s smokehouse in the Scottish Highlands which - along with a site at nearby Fraserburgh - is under threat of closure following the loss of a major Sainsbury’s fresh and smoked salmon contract.
Young’s filed the trademark on 5 August with the Intellectual Property Office under class 29, which covers food including meat fish, poultry and eggs, class 30 (coffee, tea, spices and bread), and class 43 (catering services).
A spokeswoman for Young’s declined to comment on the application.
However, an industry source told The Grocer that Young’s is looking to commercialise the site and capitalise on its heritage as a smokehouse.
Young’s, which lost the Sainsbury’s salmon processing contract to Norwegian company Marine Harvest, said in July that “all options” were on the table regarding the future of the two sites. It held discussions this week with employee representatives at Spey Valley and Fraserburgh as part of its ongoing consultation process.
“The company continues to engage with its investors and other stakeholders to determine the most appropriate future structure for its business following the expected transfer of the Sainsbury’s salmon business away from our company in November,” said a spokeswoman. “The time being taken to consider this reflects the complexity of the situation and how closely the company is examining the different options.”
It comes amid reports Young’s has been ramping up efforts to replace the estimated £100m hole in its revenues created by the loss of the Sainsbury’s contract. Seafood title Undercurrent News reported this week that Young’s had won an Asda contract from rival supplier Ocean Fish.
No comments yet