GC Rieber VivoMega just announced a 5-year, $75 million investment plan to build a new facility at their Norwegian manufacturing campus. According to the company, the new facility will allow the supplier to more than double the output of its triglyceride form of omega-3s EPA and DHA. The new plant is expected to be up and running in early 2024.
“With one of the world’s largest fish oil manufacturing and storage facilities, the expansion will provide GC Rieber VivoMega with added flexibility to meet our customers’ ongoing supply needs,” said Jan Roger Bjerkestrand, Managing Director of GC Rieber VivoMega. “This investment is part of GC Rieber VivoMega’s continual commitment to develop the needed facilities for the increased capacity and production of our industry leading omega-3 oils.”
Bjerkestrand added that the company will leverage much of the existing infrastructure, including docks, tanks, laboratories, and energy in order to minimize its eco-footprint.
This summer, the company also plans to complete the construction of a 32,000 metric ton tank park. This tank park has enabled the company to adjust to current supply chain challenges and is a key strategic asset supporting new expansions.
Growth strategies
To support future new raw material sources, the new facility is being designed with added flexibility to support future strategic growth areas in omega-3 high-end concentrates.
Ståle Søfting, Sales and Marketing Director at GC Rieber VivoMega, said today’s omega-3 market is still facing strong demand despite challenges on several fronts. “The ongoing supply chain issues are also now compounded by rising raw material costs across the board, on everything from crude fish oil, other raw materials, transport, and energy. The health category in general has a positive outlook post-pandemic, yet world events are obviously impacting the omega-3 industry also in a major way and strategies may need to adapt to navigate these hurdles.”
Trends
“We see high-quality and high-dosage trending among many consumers, the experience should be pleasant while also accessible and customer friendly,” noted Søfting. “Softgel capsules still dominate a large portion of the omega-3 application market, as its protective qualities are challenging to replace in a cost-effective manner. According to data released by GOED last year, natural refined oils still dominate in volume terms, but concentrated omega-3 oils are higher in value and contributing to the growth of the category.”
Evolution
Over the past two decades, Søfting said the market has developed in several ways. “There has been a general improvement in quality of fish oils with more focus on, for example oxidation and there has been a tremendous development in the concentrated omega-3 space with a high focus on increased dosage and/or smaller capsules. We’ve also seen some more regulations for EU producers applied, we’ve seen established health claims in EU, and we’ve seen the introduction of new raw material sources of omega-3 and omega-3 pharmaceuticals introduced into the market.”
The company said it continually evolves to meet the growing demands of the global omega-3 market over the course of its long history.
In 2010 GC Rieber VivoMega completed construction of a high concentrate production facility. The facility has expanded five times since then to keep up with the growing demand.
When asked if this latest expansion is the last, Søfting said “We are always looking at how we can further develop our business and provide value for our customers and partners and as such are open to exploring new opportunities beyond what we’ve announced today.”