Odessa, Delaware, U.S.A.-based seafood importer Eight International showcased its assortment of grouper, mahi, and frozen, canned, and fresh tuna products for both retail and foodservice customers at the 2024 Seafood Expo North America (SENA), which ran from 10 to 12 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Eight International Founder and CEO Suki Campano said face-to-face interaction with customers at SENA is invaluable to global companies like hers. Eight International imports fresh and frozen fish from across the globe, including products from Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia, Seychelles, Philippines, Portugal, India, Thailand, Oman, and the Marshall Islands
“It’s important for us to be back in Boston at the expo to showcase our high-quality selection of products. This is our seventh year exhibiting, and we are eager to promote better sourcing, attentiveness to our customers’ needs, and building strong relationships across the globe,” Campano told SeafoodSource.
Campano founded Eight International following a career in event management in Singapore, turning to the seafood industry because her cousin Vayaprakas Jayaraman was in the industry. Jayaraman owns Bangkok, Thailand-based Amazing Tuna, which now exclusively ships to Eight International.
A core principle of Eight International is ethical and sustainable sourcing from trusted fishing companies – a tenet that Campano highlighted is easier to live up to when sourcing from family.
“It’s truly a family affair. We are able to bring premium quality to our valued customers and, as a result, keep our customers’ needs at the forefront of all business,” Campano said. “We’re also especially excited to display our canned tuna this year. We think it’s going to be a big hit.”
Eight International’s leadership team also prioritizes traveling to its supplying countries to both check in with existing suppliers and meet and build long-lasting relationships with potential new partners.
“Every year, I go to meet with the fishermen myself and support them in whatever ways they need,” Campano said. “This is a core value for Eight International. I want to make sure all my fishermen know they are supported and valued as a part of the company. It really all begins with them.”
Since the company’s founding in 2010, when Campano first began buying and supplying tuna out of her basement in Delaware, the company has grown exponentially, according to Campano. With an established venture now in place, Campano said she has begun to place a heavy priority on working with other female industry leaders.
