A Grimsby seafood firm has passed the £10 million turnover mark as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.
JCS Fish was founded by husband and wife team Andrew and Louise Coulbeck on September 15, 2000.
Now two decades on, and with 50 staff, the financial measure has been hit alongside the milestone.
Impressive growth in both the core foodservice market and the retail-focused BigFish brand have seen it hit eight figure sales.
Stockpiling for the pandemic saw frozen - a strategic emphasis - soar 11 per cent year on year.
Louise said: “Whilst we have grown fairly consistently over the past 20 years, we have had to deal with a lot of challenges too, including massive market fluctuations and of course this year’s pandemic. However, our faith in frozen has been repaid this year as people rediscover the value and reliability of their freezers during the Covid-19 crisis.
“The family is so thankful for the brilliant JCS Fish team who make our business what it is, many of them have been with us for more than ten years. We are also grateful to everyone else who has helped us reach our 20th birthday, including our fantastic local suppliers and loyal customers.”
A socially distanced celebration will mark the occasion for the Murray Street business.
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JCS began in the millennium year, with just five staff in its first premises at Wharncliffe Road opposite fish market.
Andrew Coulbeck, who had been working in fish with his father’s firm since the age of 16, saw an opportunity for a new business focused entirely on farmed salmon.
His instinct proved correct and the business grew rapidly, processing fish which he sourced direct from carefully chosen producers in Scotland and Scandinavia.
BigFish was launched in 2009. The first BigFish products were plain and flavoured salmon fillets, followed by breaded salmon bites, fish cakes and, most recently, smoked products - following a major investment into a new smokehouse, which opened last year. It has won 25 individual product awards to date, most recently in April this year with a Silver Monde Selection award for its Signature Smoked Salmon.
The brand is now sold by independent retailers nationwide and online, including through Ocado and other home delivery channels.
A nod to a special celebration came earlier this year when Andrew was revealed as the face of the BigFish brand with a retro picture from a quarter of a century earlier to adorn the new ranges.
Another source of pride has been the British Retail Consortium AA grade accreditation for the JCS factory and a strong move into organic salmon, twinned with a consistent focus on quality and sustainability which means that BigFish salmon products are now certified to the Global GAP standard.
Louise said the company, with son Jack Coulbeck and his fiancée Rosie also now part of the JCS Fish family business, “is looking forward to a strong future as part of Grimsby’s flourishing seafood industry”.