New products and innovation
Value maximisation of marine resources is central to Royal Greenland’s strategic focus, and indicates the direction being taken within innovation and product development across the value chain. Common to all the initiatives is that they must generate the greatest possible value from the raw materials to which Royal Greenland has access.
Royal Greenland refines prawn production through research project
Royal Greenland is the world’s largest producer of cold-water prawns (Pandalus borealis), and with the species supporting a major part of the Group’s revenue, optimising production will continuously be a focus area.
Therefore, Royal Greenland participated in a project which was awarded DKK 7.5 million by the Danish Agricultural Agency in 2015 via the Green Development and Demonstration Programme (GUDP). The purpose of the project was to screen and identify technologies that can accelerate prawn maturation and optimise the mechanical peeling and quality of cold-water prawns.
The project covered, for example, the laboratory testing of technologies such as ultrasound, High Pressure Processing (HPP) and ohmic heating, of which the most promising were also tested in industrial production. The technologies are now being validated on a larger production scale to support the production process and to further raise the quality of cooked and peeled prawns.
For Royal Greenland, participation in the project has garnered increased knowledge regarding optimum prawn maturation and process optimisation in general, of which some aspects have already been applied in production.
Nutaaq® commercial research project enters final phase
In 2015, Royal Greenland introduced Nutaaq® with the aim of creating a product which would revolutionise the quality and taste experience of Greenland cod. As part of a continual process improvement for the project, Royal Greenland started in 2017, in cooperation with DTU and with support from Innovation Fund Denmark, a commercial research project entitled ‘New concept for the production of cod in Greenland – Best Practice with focus on quality and sustainability’.
The project’s product and production testing takes place in Maniitsoq, where Royal Greenland produces Nutaaq® cod. The aim is to optimise production, taking seasonal and biological differences in the raw material into account, to reduce stress levels for the cod through live storage and to carry out shelf life testing.
By the end of 2019, the project is expected to provide a Best Practice for the production process of Nutaaq® cod in terms of both process and durability when frozen and refrigerated, but even now, the transport set-up has already been optimised as a direct result of the project.
New marine resources become more significant
A number of new projects have been launched which have yet to show their full potential:
- In 2017, lobsters started being packed in Newfoundland, and in 2018 this was expanded with boiling of lobsters
- Until now, sea cucumbers have been an untapped resource for Royal Greenland, but in 2018 a collaboration started with Marine Institute – Memorial University of Newfoundland at St Johns campus with the aim of producing dried sea cucumbers for the Asian market
- Seaweed is an alternative marine resource, and after a comprehensive round of information gathering, seaweed farming has started up on a trial basis in Greenland
- Scallops are an important resource in Newfoundland, and in 2018 Royal Greenland has established production and packing for this species
