Peixos Mielgo is dedicated to the sale, preparation and tasting of seafood products. The business was started by grandfather Pedro and grandmother Emilia in 1927. They were the first to market fish in different towns along the Costa Brava.
The third generation of the family, led by Iván Mielgo and his wife Esther Garcia, accompanied by their team, continue the fish selling tradition. But they have been responsible for making a leap in the transformation of the raw material, thanks to their knowledge of the kitchen and in the business world. Currently, besides owing a shop in Palafrugell and a market stall, they also own a shop with a workshop in Calella de Palafrugell, where they prepare their own recipes in the form of broths or stir-fries.
In their workshop, they make homemade fish broth, blue fish broth, Palamós seafood broth, cebolla stir-fry and Habaneros stir-fry. And all of them can be purchased in their physical shops or soon online in their e-commerce website. They also have a recently opened restaurant in the town of Palafrugell where you can taste their products.
Problem: Declining sales of fish for broth.
The complication encountered by these two Peixos Mielgo entrepreneurs, Iván and Esther, triggered them to start their business. They were able to realise that selling fish to make broth for rice and fideuás was decreasing all the time. Their customers attributed this decline to the lack of time and the need to have it ready to prepare a good rice or fideuá.
Opportunity that led them to realise that there was a demand. As fishmongers and farmers, they always have fresh, quality products at their disposal. Essential to make a good stir-fry and broth, and a better seafood rice or fideuá.
So they started to produce and sell stir-fries and fish broths in a very homemade way and without any planning. Seeing that their proposal was successful, they decided to do a market study and start their canning business in a more serious and professional way.
Challenge: Extending the shelf life of your stir-fries and prepared stocks
The biggest challenge that Iván and Esther faced was the durability and preservation of their products, as without any kind of treatment their stir-fries and broths could last for two or three days at the most.
They needed the shelf life of their products to be much longer and, of course, not to the detriment of their great quality and taste. This need led them to look for ways to get it. They trained, attended several courses at the Monells Agricultural School and delved around until they found the solution: they needed an autoclave. So they started to investigate which type of autoclave would best suit their needs.
“Solving the problem of the durability of our sauces and stocks has meant growing and giving added value to our Peixos Mielgo fish shop. Now, in addition to fresh fish, we also sell canned stir-fries and broths. We are in more than 30 shops. In addition, we have been awarded the Girona Excel-lent and Fira Àpat prizes in the sustainable company category”.
Iván and Esther, owners of Peixos Mielgo
Solution: sterilise your stir-fries and prepared broths.
Their solution was the TERRA Food-Tech® autoclave, thanks to which they were able to sterilize their broths and stir-fries, which has allowed them to extend the shelf life of their products. From two or three days to one year without refrigeration.
“From Peixos Mielgo we recommend TERRA Food-Tech® autoclaves because it is a very good machine to start in the world of canning and ready meals. We would recommend it without hesitation because they are small in size, they do almost all the work in an automated way, they show you everything with graphics. They are easy to use and save you a lot of time and headaches”.
Iván and Esther, owners of Peixos Mielgo
In addition, both Iván and Esther confess that with the TERRA Food-Tech® autoclave they are much more relieved of work because it does almost everything itself and also more relaxed because of the security it offers them for the marketing of their products.
They also add that, although the autoclaves are very intuitive and that they have always had the technical support of TERRA Food-Tech®, it would be of great help to be able to hold some kind of masterclass or course explaining how to solve small problems that may arise without resorting to a technician.
“The canning world is a very good business opportunity for us, as it has allowed us to expand our current product offer and reach a wider audience.”
Iván and Esther, owners of Peixos Mielgo