MANILA, Philippines — Alliance Select Foods International announced that it has bagged major supply deals for smoked salmon in the US as it now claims to being Southeast Asia’s largest producer of smoked salmon.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Alliance said its US subsidiary Spence & Company has just been selected as the sole supplier for the entire Wellsley Farms’ smoked salmon product line.

These products will be sold in BJ’s club stores. BJ’s is a membership warehouse retailer with 190 locations in 15 states in the US East Coast, said Alliance.

In addition, Spence has also added Costco’s Northwest division to its roster of clients. Costco is the largest membership clubhouse chain in North America with 592 locations in the US and Mexico.

Spence has made a concerted effort to further increase its client base and has also recently added online retailers like Mackenzie Ltd. (one of the largest sellers of US and imported smoked salmon and specialty smoked seaf food products) and Vermont Country Store (outlet for practical and hard to find products).

Alliance said Spence has drawn up aggressive marketing plans that will be implemented this year with the goal of further expanding its distribution network across the US.

The firm said smoked salmon will continue to be a major growth driver for Alliance in the next few years.

The company’s subsidiary in General Santos, Big Glory Bay Salmon & Seafood Company, Inc. (BGB) is also stepping up its exports with repeat orders from leading retailers and distributors in Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Also, in an independent third party audit conducted for E-mart, South Korea’s largest retailer, BGB was awarded the Gold Standard for manufacturing excellence. This will allow it to start exports to E-mart in February and develop a presence in the lucrative South Korean market.

With significant investments in the smoked salmon business, Alliance said it is now the largest producer of smoked salmon in Southeast Asia.

With higher profit margins and growth plans for the business, the firm said smoked salmon will play a significant role in its goal to be a premier global seafood company.