North East Now: Amity Fish Company has ‘big plans for the future’ as it continues to battle economic challenges

A north-east fish firm has spoken of how the pandemic has changed the way it operates.

Amity Fish Company is dedicated to supplying the freshest seafood with an emphasis on quality, traceability and provenance.

Run by Peterhead-based Skipper Jimmy Buchan, who is well known for starring in BBC’S Bafta-winning series Trawlermen, and the Covid-19 crisis has seen it net a new customer base.

“Prior to March 2020, Amity Fish Company was primarily dealing with trade customers in the hospitality industry and foodservice sector,” said Jenna Urquhart, digital content creator at Amity Fish Company.

“We lost that business overnight as lockdown hit, with many of our customers being forced to close.

“What we did see immediately was a demand from the general public who wanted to be able to source great quality seafood – and so the decision was made to diversify and begin offering a home delivery service across the UK.”

And so, the business has been offering the best catch from the waters around the Scottish coastline – including haddock, salmon, monkfish, prawns and mackerel – for delivery in mainland UK ever since.

© Supplied by Amity Fish Company

Jenna says that this offering “is here to stay”.

“We are hopeful that the business-to-business side of our company will return in time, but our direct to consumer delivery service is going nowhere.

“We’ve even invested in a shiny new website and online store as part of that.

“It has been very successful. The uptake on this part of our business has been amazing over the past year and has changed it forever – we started as a team of four in March last year and now there are eight of us.

“Especially now back in lockdown and with the inclement weather, we take the hassle out of sourcing your seafood.

“Customers can enjoy our safe, contactless doorstep delivery service at the click of a button and enjoy their amazing Scottish seafood when it arrives.

“Going forward, there will now remain a 50/50 split between consumers and trade customers as hospitality (hopefully) reopens.

“Although it’s not been easy and there have been bumps along the way, we have been very lucky to find ourselves in this position in 2021 and with big plans for the future.”

As North East Now continues its mission to promote and support local businesses, Amity Fish Company has been avid fans of the platform since it launched last June.

Driven by Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce and supported by creative agency Hampton and Aberdeen Journals, North East Now has run several initiatives including its Power Week and Power Hour campaigns.

Both were a great success and a line-up of local businesses, including Amity Fish Company, got involved to boost their exposure on social media.

Jenna said: “We originally took part in July’s Power Hour and have kept in regular touch with North East Now since then. We love how supportive it has been with our business.

“I love reading the articles on the site and it has helped me discover other local businesses and enterprises I did not know about.

“Here in the north-east, we have a fantastic variety of homegrown businesses and products we should be proud to shout about.

“The website helps promote this, which is a great thing for us all.

“Going forward, Brexit is obviously the main challenge for us, impacting the fishing fleet hugely right now.

© Helen Barrington

“The continued restrictions on hospitality and events also in turn impact our industry, not only us as suppliers but the producers, transporters and fishing fleet – all those involved in getting the seafood from the sea to your plate.

“But we continue to do what we have always done – strive to source the best quality Scottish seafood for our customers, and educate those around us on how amazing Scottish seafood is and how lucky we are to have such easy access to it.”

To find out more about North-East Now, visit northeastnow.scot

To share your positive business story, email stories@northeastnow.scot