The company Santa Catarina Indústria Conserveira, S.A., was identified as a "brand that generates added value for the country" in the context of the project "Portugal Inspira," an entrepreneurial initiative that aims to promote Portuguese brands and products.
This project, which has created a platform for the identification of national products and services that generate added value for the country, aims to disseminate high quality products and services in the national market that sometimes are not identified as being national. The promotion of a conscious consumption with impact on the development of economy is another goal of this initiative.
Santa Catarina, now included in this platform, is a tuna cannery that operates in the village of Calheta, São Jorge Island. It is also the island's largest employer with 130 workers, of whom one hundred are women.
Being mainly targeted at exports, the Santa Catarina Cannery registered a sales volume of six million Euros in 2012. For this year, the goal is set at seven million Euros. In order to accomplish this goal, the company is promoting a gourmet product line that has already won some prizes.