How Aquascot’s ownership model helped take it from surviving to thriving
Aquascot was established in 1987 with a vision to uplift Alness in the Scottish Highlands after a localized oil boom petered out and the region suffered a decline resulting in high unemployment and associated challenges. The business began by processing local fish, including salmon and sea trout. In 1993, it started trading with Waitrose, then in 2003, became a dedicated supplier. In 2016, Aquascot marked a significant milestone as it transformed into an employee-owned company and has since gone from strength to strength.
John Housego, Partner and Managing Director, explains how this transition came about and some of the benefits Aquascot has seen as a result. “Bringing ownership to the employees was a way for the founders to cement their legacy and dedication to the community. If they had sold the business the jobs would have certainly moved elsewhere. We employ over 200 people in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands and work with the leading retailer in terms of quality, ethics, and sustainability in the UK. This is something as a community we are very proud of.
“For us employee ownership should offer a higher level of engagement across all our teams because we’re all owners. I talk about inverting the pyramid, for most organizations there are stakeholders and management towards the top and workers at the base. From a leadership point of view this inversion means rather than my teams being here to serve me I am here to serve them, to ensure they have a voice. It is important that our partners can have a say in the overall governance of the business. It means we all share the success when the company is doing well and share the burden of downturns as well. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t employee owned, so that’s the legacy of our founders, and now we have partners celebrating 35 years with the company.”
Enhancing efficiencies
John goes on to explain the company’s products: “Aquascot supplies and manages the chain of custody for all Waitrose farmed Scottish salmon and sea trout. We purchase, portion and manage the ethics and sustainability of the fish. We also do other value-added products, such as skewers, kebabs, and burgers; all primarily going into Waitrose. On top of this we have dedicated entertainment lines that Waitrose customers can order for their own special events.
“In addition, we also have our own branded Feel Good Fish which we portion and pack. The business has also been diversified and now includes the Shore brand, a Scottish seaweed company which makes outstanding seaweed crisps. As well as being very tasty the crisps promote a fully sustainable local ingredient, seaweed. We recently launched a new Salt & Balsamic flavor in September.
“This year we have also begun our filleting business and service contracts with some of our farming partners. Our upgraded machinery has given us this ability.” John elaborates on these recent investments: “We’ve recently put £4.2 million into new processing equipment. Given the small size of our team this was a massive achievement for us. This was driven by an ambition to stay competitive in the market, as well as the recognition that the latest equipment offers benefits not only to us as a business but also to our customer in terms of Waitrose. We have upgraded our primary processing kit as well as some packaging lines, motivated in part by Waitrose moving to vertical merchandising that utilizes different fixtures.
“We want to remain at the cutting edge of processing, and a big part of that is understanding what the best equipment is, as well as how it can generate greater efficiencies in our systems as we become a more data-driven operation. It’s important to be able to meet your customers’ needs but also to constantly improve one’s own competitiveness and capability,” John adds.
Collaborative approach
In staying ahead of the curve, the business has also invested in the research and development of more value-added products. “We have a development chef with a
very strong team who are putting in proposals to Waitrose to finetune the dishes to their requirements. We have some new lines coming in time for Christmas. For example, we will be launching a sweet potato and salmon curry which is delicious. We also have the three fish roast which was put out a few years ago and has proved very popular. For Valentine’s Day in February, we will also be bringing an exciting new line, the details of which will be revealed in the new year.”
John highlights how having such a close working relationship with their primary customer Waitrose provides such benefits to this process. “Because our values are so closely aligned, and there is such a great level of trust, there is a much more collaborative approach to working together. Our teams are able to put their heads together to solve problems faster. It is a much closer way of working which embraces the spirit of cooperation.
“To give a concrete example,” John continues, “we purchase and process all of Waitrose’s Scottish salmon, this gives us the control to ensure that the products fall within our leading welfare, sustainability and ethical guidelines. Because of our unique position we are able to drive that across the industry, which in turn builds integrity into the whole process. Waitrose knows and trusts that our standards are aligned with theirs and that they receive an exceptional fully processed product.”
Looking further afield John expands on the company’s ambitions moving forward: “We are looking to finetune the business as we expand into other products and new customers in the short term. Longer term we will be diversifying further and embracing our brands like Shore as they are certain to present great opportunities. As we create innovative new products and our brands grow we want to be well known across all of UK retail.”
Emerging from humble Highland origins, Aquascot has not only survived, but thrived, thanks to its employee-owned structure. This has allowed the business to not just constantly improve its processes to remain at the leading edge of the industry, but also to generate bold and exciting ambitions for the coming years.