Peter Pan Seafood has announced plans for an asset purchase of Anchorage-based seafood wholesaler Trapper’s Creek Smoking Co., including a smokehouse facility and its brands: Copper River Smoking Co., Alaska’s Best, Trapper’s Creek and Eat Like a Grizzly.
Peter Pan officials said March 10 that a letter of intent for the asset purchase had been signed and that current Trapper’s Creek Smoking Co. owner Andi Wahry would stay on in an advisory role to ensure a smooth transition.
Rodger May, chief growth officer for Peter Pan, said his company is eager to expand with the addition of smoking capabilities and a growth of its footprint in Alaska.
“We are very proud to add these brands, including the Copper River brand, to the Peter Pan Seafood portfolio,” Peter Pan CEO Kevin Bixler said. “This will fuel our continued growth in new channels and value-added products.”
Peter Pan, a Bellevue, Wash.-based seafood firm, was sold by Japanese seafood giant Maruha Nichiroin in 2021, bringing the company back under Alaska-based U.S. ownership. The company is now vertically integrated, meaning that all stages of production and marketing—which are typically run separately—are now under one owner.
The ownership group consists of Rodger May of Northwest Fish, the Na’-Nuk Investment Fund, managed by McKinley Alaska Private Investment LLC and McKinley Capital Management, LLC and the RRG Global Partners Fund, which is managed by RRG Capital Management.