As part of a fully integrated seafood company, IceFresh™ & HBC® investments in new technology that can optimize the whole value chain. IceFresh™ enables the constant and sustainable supply of fresh, high-quality seafood anywhere globally. Whilst HBC’s patented technology creates natural, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant consumer health ingredients from the side-streams of Norwegian Atlantic Salmon. This ensures that out of every kilogram of salmon produced, all of it is effectively used to benefit human health.
Salmon and trout from Hofseth, based in Sunnmore, Norway, will be served daily, in multiple locations and corporate events throughout the week at the WEF in Davos.
The group will showcase how it is already possible to avoid the biggest problems around food waste in seafood and reduce economic losses, and negative social/nutritional consequences plaguing the sector. Indeed current data for 2026 shows that approximately 15% to 23% of global aquatic food is lost or wasted. Seafood is highly perishable, making it particularly vulnerable to waste across its complex supply chain, from catch to consumption.
The “Icefresh Concept” at its core, aims to revolutionise the global seafood supply chain by replacing the traditional (and CO2 heavy) “fresh” fish model with a “frozen -to-refreshed” model that delivers a better quality, “fresher-than-fresh” product with a 80% lower CO2 footprint. Unlike traditional thawing, which can damage the fish's structure and cause "driploss" (loss of moisture and flavor), Icefresh technology thaws the fish soprecisely that the texture, color, and taste are indistinguishable from—and often superior to—fish that has been sitting on ice for 7-10 days before consumption.
Furthermore, consumer preferences for specific product forms like fillets that result in large amounts of by-products (heads, back-bones, skin) being discarded instead of "valorized" for human consumption (turned into useful products). HBC®, is the global leader in "upcycling" salmon side streams. While traditional fish processing focuses only on the fillets (about 40-50% of the fish), HBC has developed a business model and technology suite designed to utilize 100% of the fish for high-value human health applications.
One of this year's five main themes in Davos is the question: “How can we use innovation on a large scale in a responsible way?” The Hofseth group can answer that question within its industry sector and make areal difference in two ways:
1. Optimizingthe value chain to eliminate virtually all food waste from the retailer is a"triple win" for the industry:
- A Real Positive Environmental Impact: Shifting from air freight to sea freight reduces the carbon footprint of transportation by over 80%.
- Waste Reduction: Because the fish is stored frozen and only thawed "on demand" for retailers, it significantly reduces food waste at the supermarket level.
- Quality & Food Safety: Freezing at the source “at the peak of freshness” locks in nutrients and prevents oxidation ("fishy" smells associated with older fresh fish).
2. Utilizing the whole fish and eliminating all waste from the side-streams whilst making patent-protected, science-led and clinically proven ingredients including bioactive peptides, lipids and collagen from fresh salmon. The benefits from these are:
- Longevity science & health aging trends: the focus has shifted from "more calories" to "bioactive nutrition." HBC’s technology ensures that the most nutrient-dense parts of the fish—the head backbone and skin—are not lost.
- Access to functional "whole-food" supplements: the body recognize these more easily than synthetic or highly processed alternatives, directly supporting health aging, immune resilience, and metabolic stability.
- Full Traceability: Every batch of bioactive peptides, oil or undenatured collagen can be fully traced back to the fjord in Norway.
“Today,a lot of fish lose both quality and value on its way to market, and far too much is thrown away. This is neither sustainable nor sensible. This could change the seafood world. Our goal in Davos is to influence sustainability to become a foundation for the global seafood trade” says CEO Roger Hofseth.
Hofseth's chef and chief product developer, Mindor Klauset, is looking forward to presenting the high quality of the food to some of the world's most influential decision-makers in Davos.
"For me, it is important that people all over the world have access to the quality we create locally. It is simply crazy that fish we have taken to two years to grow sustainably in our pristine fjords, should then be flown around the world and, then in a worst case, a third of it gets thrown away before it reaches the dinner table because it is too old. When people experience the quality of salmon thawed with IceFresh technology, I believe it could change the seafood world on a large scale," says Klauset.
Educating global leaders
To succeed at large scale and contribute to a systemic change in the seafood sector, something that is at the heart of the Davos summit, it is a privilege to showcase the quality of our “fresher than fresh” salmon using Icefresh™ in Davos at Abraham House and Davos Lodge throughout the week. Anyone present at the WEF is welcome to visit and sample our state-of-the-art technology and our salmon and HBC health products including ProGo Bioactive Peptides samples.