Lauren Enz, new VP of sales US for The Kingfish Company. Photo: The Kingfish Company.

Kingfish Co hires experienced US seafood leader

Netherlands-based yellowtail grower The Kingfish Company, which plans a 6,000-8,000 tonnes-per-year on-land farm in America, has hired an experienced seafood industry executive to fill the new role of vice president of sales for the US.

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Lauren Enz brings more than two decades of seafood sales and leadership experience, the company said in a press release. Enz previously worked as vice president of business development at Mark Foods and director of seafood purchasing at Darden Restaurants.

“The addition of Lauren Enz, as VP of Sales US, is the next step in our strategic roadmap towards building significant production capacity in Maine for the US market,” said Kingfish Company chief executive Ohad Maiman.

Building a market

“Following the successful national launch of our Dutch Yellowtail retail product with Whole Foods Market, we aim to continue to develop long term strategic client relationships ahead of domestic production, and we look forward to working with Lauren and gaining from her remarkable experience and expertise.”

The Kingfish Company’s Zeeland recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility in the Netherlands has a current installed capacity of 1,250 tonnes per year and is undergoing expansion towards 3,000-tonne capacity. 

In the US, permitting for the company’s RAS facility recently secured both critical water side permits, with groundworks planned between Q4 2021 to Q1 2022.