SATS and Mitsui Sign MOU to Collaborate on Strengthening Food Value Chain
Singapore, 5 April 2023 – SATS Ltd. today announced a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to form a strategic alliance with Mitsui & Co., Ltd. to jointly explore harnessing their respective strengths to grow their businesses. They will jointly explore various opportunities which include strengthening the food value chain such as diversifying supply sources, development of innovative products and services, and expanding sales and distribution channels to grow their food and retail business. The MOU is for an initial three years and renewable for successive two-year extensions.
SATS is a leading food solutions and gateway services provider in Asia, offering a wide range of food and ground handling services to a broad spectrum of customers, from aviation to institutions, food service and retail. Pursuing a twin-engine growth strategy, the group has invested aggressively in culinary expertise, food technologies and production capabilities to strengthen its food production competency in its home base in Singapore. Driving growth beyond its core market, SATS has been actively firing up its second growth engine to replicate these core capabilities to expand internationally. To cater to the varying scale and complexity of its wide range of customers, SATS has established a tiered-kitchen model, differentiating production based on volume and diversity of meals to achieve efficiency.
Mitsui is one of the largest global trading and investment companies with a diversified portfolio ranging from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects in the following fields - mineral and metal resources, energy, infrastructure projects, mobility, chemicals, iron and steel products, food, retail, wellness, IT and communication business, corporate development business. The company has been building its capabilities in food and retail business for growth, investing in several segments of the food supply chain, from farms to food distribution. Mitsui is also a global developer and investor in infrastructure projects, including renewable energy and logistic infrastructure.
Under this MOU, SATS will explore the opportunities to tap into Mitsui’s extensive distribution network and supply sources to grow demand for its products and services and diversify SATS' supply chain. Mitsui will potentially harness SATS’ culinary, food technology, innovation, and production capabilities to provide value-added services to its customers. Mitsui will also explore with SATS other opportunities that leverage its infrastructure and logistics businesses and assets in the Asia Pacific region.
President and chief executive officer of SATS Ltd., Kerry Mok, said, “A strategic alliance with Mitsui provides SATS the opportunity to collaborate on developing new distribution channels for our products and services while exploring new procurement channels to ensure stable supply and better food security”.
Managing officer, chief operating officer of retail business unit, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Tsutomu Osada, said, “Through a strategic alliance with SATS, SATS and Mitsui would have the opportunity to collaborate in a multitude of business fields across food, distribution, logistics, and other related services. Also, both parties will be able to contribute to enriching the quality of life for the communities in Asia and other regions by leveraging the capabilities of both parties”.
