Jon Adalsteinsson has been importing fish from Iceland to Switzerland for almost 30 years.zvg
30 years ago, Jon Adalsteinsson and Hilma Sveinsdottir founded a company in Brugg (AG) to import fresh fish from Iceland to Switzerland. The owner told us about his development and what typically Icelandic product he is focusing on today.
Simone Brändlin / ch media
Whether you offer arctic char to your guests for New Year’s Eve or enjoy a blueberry skyr from the Coop, there is a good chance that you will find an Icelandic product on your plate. These are distributed by Jon Adalsteinsson, an Icelander who has lived in the Brugg region (AG) for thirty years.
Alongside his wife Hilma Sveinsdottir, also from Iceland, and a Swiss woman, Marlise Umiker, the entrepreneur founded Ice-Co in 1994, a company focused entirely on fish. While the head office is in Hafnarfjörður, Iceland, the sales office is located in Brugg, in the canton of Aargau.
The company was born from an observation: “My wife and I always complained about the fish in Switzerland,” explains Jon Adalsteinsson. Both were not accustomed to the lower quality and reduced supply of our countries. “We often wondered if we couldn’t change that.”
Jon Adalsteinsson and Hilma Sveinsdottir, both from Iceland, own a business in Brugg.zvg
And as sometimes in life, chance makes things happen… “I had an IT company called ‘Men&Mice’, and we dealt with well-known Swiss brands like Migros or UBS.” However, his partner’s father owns a small char farm in Iceland. “At three in the morning, after drinking a lot of schnapps, he asked me if we could sell his fish in Switzerland and I replied with euphoria: ‘Of course we can, cheers’”.
This evening in Iceland was to mark the start of his new career. Because since then, everything has happened very quickly. “He then sent three or four crates of char to Switzerland and I rushed to Zurich airport with my little Mitsubishi to pick up the fish.”
The Swiss’ favorite fish
At first, in the industry, this absurd idea caused sniggers. But it is clear that it soon turns into something lasting. The Adalsteinssons are slowly but surely growing their business. In addition to char, they import redfish, turbot and cod – the favorite fish of the Swiss population, the businessman reveals.
“The Swiss prefer to eat cod”
Jon Adalsteinsson
The next and obvious step for the young company from Brugg is to win the heart of Migros and make it its customer. Followed by Coop. “It was already unusual that we were the main suppliers of the two largest retailers,” recalls Jon Adalsteinsson.
After setting up the logistics, other obstacles will come in their way. Swiss buyers, for example, demand wild fish the size of a biscuit and portions that are always exactly the same size. This was without taking into account that the rules regarding sustainability in Iceland are very strict. Finding an arrangement took a lot of patience and work.
“But our fish was always fresh. When Coop, for example, ordered goods on Tuesday for Thursday, they were still swimming in the sea when the order was placed.
Jon Adalsteinsson
Skyr, the new star
In the meantime, the company has adapted its portfolio. For example, cod – although a holiday classic – is no longer supplied by the Ice-Co company from Brugg. “The market has changed. When we started, Iceland hardly exported any fish to Switzerland.”
“The competition and the pressure on prices are such that we can no longer be competitive”
Jon Adalsteinsson
Profitability is no longer assured, which is why the company has mostly withdrawn from the fish market. She continues to sell arctic char and will soon launch into smoked salmon. Because in Iceland, we are currently working on a sustainable concept: fish are no longer caught at sea in enclosures, but in a pond on dry land. “We are currently studying salmon farms and considering importing the fish to Switzerland.” But for the moment, nothing is ready yet, specifies the founder of Ice-Co.
In fact, the company has also recently focused on a creamy, protein-rich dairy product: skyr. You can find the Icelandic brand Isey at Coop, for whom Ice-Co advertises the product. The brand also sponsors the Icelandic women’s football team, which will make a stop in Switzerland this summer for the European Championship. The Brugg company also supports the upcoming Icelandic Horse World Championships in Gebenstorf (AG). “We have many projects and above all see great potential for skyr in our country,” continues the entrepreneur.
Translated and adapted from German by Léa Krejci
