In our family, everything revolves around the sea. It is our source of life — where our delicious and nutritious shellfish are cultivated and harvested. Our great-grandfather, Pieter Verwijs, began farming oysters in 1880. For as long as we can remember, we have lived with and from the sea. We're proud to continue his legacy through Premier. Every day, we make it possible for customers around the world to enjoy a full range of fresh Premier fish, shellfish, and sea vegetables — from flavorful mussels, shellfish, and crustaceans to the most premium oysters on the market. We select only the very best! Thanks to our active role in the entire production chain — from source to plate — we’re able to maintain outstanding quality and deliver the freshest products possible.
Our innovation team continuously brings new and inspiring possibilities to the market. We make no compromises at the expense of the environment. Our mission is to leave the sea better and healthier for future generations.
We do this together with our seafarmers, who are located all around the world. We see them as part of our family and know them personally. Together, we believe in the same sustainable future that the sea can offer, and we are working to reduce our ecological footprint to an absolute minimum. Some of our Premier products are inherently sustainable and naturally contribute to filtering the sea. In the areas where we seed and harvest our mussels and oysters, we see ecosystems begin to flourish again.
We encourage both new and existing customers to confidently explore innovative ways to prepare our shellfish and create their own Premier Moments, all year round. In this way, everyone—of all ages—can enjoy the delights of our sea.
With a growing world population, there is also an increasing demand for food. Preferably as sustainable as possible. If you ask us, shellfish and sea vegetables are the perfect solution for this. Why? During the cultivation of mussels, there are far fewer environmentally harmful factors involved than with meat breeding. This is because no fresh drinking water, food and fertilizers are needed, nor is there any question of using medicines such as antibiotics. This applies to all crustaceans and shellfish and sea vegetables and algae. In addition, it is also very healthy. It is rich in protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other healthy nutrients. There are no harmful fats in it and it contains few calories. The Oosterschelde nature reserve is our 'back garden' and the many beautiful seas are the fertile ground for our wonderful products. We ensure that we, but also the growers we work with, apply the most sustainable possible cultivation, harvesting and processing process for all our products. In our processing center we apply sustainable processes, supported by solar panels, and we also purchase wind energy that we use to run our factories. We use a circular production process in which the residual products of the processing process go back into the sea. Think of empty shells, crabs and seaweed, which in turn serve as food for other water inhabitants. A sustainable way of working, the only way for us!
This is our oyster farmer Hans Nelis. He takes care of the cultivation of, among other things, our La Zélandaise oyster. This is a Zeeland oyster that is grown on tables in the Oosterschelde. As a result, it has the beautiful shape of the French and Irish oysters, but the salty taste of our local waters. A perfect combination!
