At the 5
th anniversary
celebrations of Etosha Fishing’s Efuta Maasbanker brand hosted in Oshakati earlier
this month, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources Bernard Esau praised the
company for establishing a proudly Namibian product and urged consumers to
support local brands.
“Efuta must become a household
brand,” the Minister said. “Why must we support imported products when our own
products are just as good or even better? Let’s support local products,” he
said.
In 2013 Etosha Fishing became the
first fishing company to can locally caught horse mackerel under its own EFUTA
Maasbanker brand. Since the product’s introduction to the local retail market
in 2014 sales have increased nearly five-fold with a total of nearly 5 million
cans sold annually. In recent months the company also added a curry flavour to
its existing tomato and chilli flavour offering.
“By establishing EFUTA Maasbanker
five years ago, Etosha Fishing responded to the clarion call of the Namibian
Government, not only through job creation and value addition to marine
resources, but also to ensure food security in the region in particular and in
general in the country,” Special Advisor to the Governor of the Oshana Region,
Michael Mwinga said at a birthday celebrations.
He also called on the public to consume more fish as this is a healthy
food choice that has proven to sustain the nutritional needs of many local
communities during times of floods and persistent drought years.
Nutritional experts agree on the
importance of horse mackerel as a food product that is high in proteins and
poly-unsaturated fats, which are an essential part of creating a well-balanced,
complete diet and promoting a healthy life style.
Hailing the success of the brand,
Etosha Fishing Board Member Helmi Hitula noted that prior to establishing Efuta
Maasbanker, many industry players believed that canning horse mackerel would
not be a viable business proposition. “Today we can celebrate quite the
opposite. Not only has Etosha Fishing canned horse mackerel successfully, but
we have established a proudly Namibian brand and an affordable product of
exceptional quality,” she said.
EFUTA Maasbanker was the first Namibian
canned product to receive the Namibian Standards Institution’s (NSI) Standard
Mark of Conformity product endorsement. It is also Halaal certified and carries
the Team Namibia product mark.
The product’s proud Namibian stance
is evident from its branding. The word “EFUTA” originates from the Oshiwambo
language meaning “from the sea”, while the prominent bright pink label design
is derived from the traditional Ondelela colours.
Earlier this year Etosha Fishing
also started canning imported pilchards under its EFUTA brand. To remain true
to the brand identity, EFUTA Pilchards has the same Ondelela striped label, but
just in blue representing the colour of the ocean.
Established in the 1940s, Etosha
Fishing Corporation is a leading player in the Namibian fishing industry and
considered to be a leading cannery with world-class facilities based in Walvis
Bay. For many years it has been canning pilchards for well-known southern
African brands.
The company subscribes to the vision
"excellence in food processing" and operates under HACCP compliance
and EU accreditation. All its canned products comply with National Regulator
for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) and Namibian Standards Institution (NSI)
regulations and standards.
