Staff suggestions have saved Cooke £14.4m in North America

An employee suggestions programme saved salmon farmer Cooke Inc. CAD 27 million (£14.4m) in North America between March and mid-November 2025, the company has reported in its winter staff newsletter.

Project Resolve enables Cooke’s staff to “bring their own thoughts and ideas to the head of the table”, the company wrote.

“Launching in March 2025, the goal was to combat the uncertainties of the economic future, while continuing to improve our operations and increase our competitive edge,” explained family-owned Cooke, which is headquartered in New Brunswick, Atlantic Canada.

Commitment to results

“From conception to launch, the project took seven months, a very short turnaround time, which reiterates the organisation’s commitment to results and determination. Since then, Project Resolve has seen 250 submitted ideas.

“Out of those 250, 90 have been acted upon. As of November 14, 2025, this had brought over CAD 27m in new cost savings to the company.”

Cooke said that by collaborating internally among teams and locations, it has been able to remain competitive in an always-changing market.

'Cathedrals of efficiency'

Projects cover everything from fish farms and processing to back office and sales. They range from enhancing the use of reusable cups to consolidating vendor and licesning contracts, improved vessel utilisation in farming operations, improving efforts in boosting our processing yields, enhancing logistics efficiency, and improving collaboration with internal business partners.

Cooke business improvement director Mark O’Regan told the newsletter: “Resolve has sparked a mindset shift, with a renewed sense of urgency throughout the entire Cooke Team - everyone is seeking better ways to do things every day.

“We’re not merely saving money; we’re building cathedrals of efficiency to secure our future. It’s been inspiring to witness this transformation firsthand.”