Mowi Logo PNG
Fish production involves farming, processing, and delivering products to markets and restaurants. Control over conditions and logistics affects the final product’s quality. The Mowi logo represents a company that farms and supplies Atlantic salmon to the food industry.
Mowi was founded in 1964 by a group of Norwegian fish farmers. They began raising salmon on farms using roe from the Voss and Arøy rivers. In 1990, Norsk Hydro acquired a 50 percent stake in Mowi. By 1992, it had gained full control and renamed the company Marine Harvest.
In 2006, Pan Fish, Marine Harvest N.V., and Fjord Seafood merged in a three-way merger. John Fredriksen led the new structure. The merged company, called Marine Harvest, became the world’s largest salmon producer. Its share accounted for 25-30% of the global market. In 2013, the company acquired Poland’s Morpol, expanding its presence in Europe. The company’s shares were included in the OBX Index of the Oslo Stock Exchange.
On January 1, 2019, the company restored its historical name, Mowi, and unified it into a global brand. In 2023, Mowi’s revenues reached $ 5.5 billion, up 11.4 percent from 2022. That same year, the company began large-scale investments in smolt and post-smolt production to increase farming volumes.
In 2024, Mowi acquired additional Nova Sea shares from Vigner Olaisen AS, raising its ownership from 49 to 95 percent. Nova Sea is a key salmon producer in Production Area 8 in northern Norway.
By the fourth quarter of 2024, Mowi reported improved seawater quality and higher fish survival rates. The company plans to reach a total production of 600,000 tons, including 400,000 tons in Norway. This will strengthen its position as a global aquaculture leader.
Meaning and History
What is Mowi?
A Norwegian corporation based in Bergen, formed after the merger of Pan Fish, Marine Harvest, and Fjord Seafood, it is the world’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon raised under controlled conditions. The company manages the entire cycle from incubation to product delivery and operates farms in Norway, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Chile, and the Faroe Islands. The annual farming volume is about 450 thousand tons. Its structure includes divisions for feed production, breeding, processing, and marketing under the Mowi and Ducktrap River brands.
2006 – today
Mowi and Marine Harvest were names used by the same fish farming group at different points in its history. The Mowi name first appeared in Norway in 1964, later gave way to other corporate names, and returned in 2019. Its return coincided with the introduction of products under a shared consumer brand and a black-and-white logo featuring an omega in place of the “O.”
Thor Mowinckel and other aquaculture pioneers founded the business on Norway’s west coast. Mowi’s name comes from the surname Mowinckel. It is pronounced approximately “MOO-vee.” They applied the short name to both the company and the strain of Atlantic salmon it developed. The original breeding stock came from the Vosso and Årøy rivers.
The first trials took place in small bodies of water. Earthen ponds affected the trout’s flavor, so the founders switched to tank-based rearing. In 1969, they first placed juvenile fish in seawater. That same year, Norsk Hydro acquired 50 percent of Mowi and later became its sole owner. By the mid-1970s, the name was being used as a local brand and as the designation for the salmon breeding strain.
Ownership changes also changed the corporate name. Hydro Seafood emerged in 1990. In 2000, the Dutch company Nutreco acquired the fish farming operations and applied the Marine Harvest name to the combined business. The Mowi name remained attached to the salmon strain whose selective breeding program had begun in 1964.
The modern group took shape in 2006 through the merger of Pan Fish, Marine Harvest, and Fjord Seafood. At a presentation on December 22, Pan Fish management unveiled the name and a preliminary visual identity drawn from all 3 companies. Marine Harvest supplied the corporate name, Pan Fish provided the basis for the emblem, and Fjord Seafood contributed the tagline “Excellence in seafood.” Shareholders approved the Marine Harvest name on January 30, 2007.
The logo combined a line-drawn globe with 3 fish crossing it horizontally. In the early color version, the globe was blue, while the fish and the lowercase “marine harvest” lettering were orange. The blue tagline “Excellence in seafood” appeared below. The globe and fish carried forward the Pan Fish identity. The Marine Harvest name referred to the products’ marine origins and the harvesting of farmed fish, while the tagline conveyed Fjord Seafood’s focus on seafood quality.
Preparations to bring back the Mowi name took about 2 years. On November 13, 2018, at its Capital Markets Day in Edinburgh, Marine Harvest introduced the global MOWI brand and announced its upcoming name change. CEO Alf-Helge Aarskog linked the historic name to the pioneers of Norwegian salmon farming and the company’s development over half a century.
Using one name for the company and its products accompanied a shift from supplying primarily unbranded raw products to selling under its own brand. The group controlled selective breeding, feed production, farming, processing, and sales. Through MOWI, consumers learned about the full production cycle, the fish’s origins, its nutritional qualities and flavor, and the convenience of prepared products. The company allocated a €35 million budget for the first 2 years of the launch.
On December 4, 2018, an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting approved the name change. The name Mowi ASA took effect on January 1, 2019. The return of the family-derived name sparked a public dispute. Several members of the Mowinckel family voted against it, objecting to associating their surname with open-water marine farming methods. In response, the company cited its historic use of Mowi, the continued selective breeding of the salmon strain bearing that name, and the brand’s earlier use in Asian markets.
The company unveiled the new logo alongside the brand on November 13, 2018. It consisted of 4 bold uppercase characters of equal height. The “M,” “W,” and “I” had geometric proportions and thick, uniform sans-serif strokes. A Greek omega replaced the conventional “O.” Its rounded upper section rests on a horizontal base that extends outward on both sides. Its stroke weight matched the neighboring letters, integrating the omega into the wordmark.
The replacement of the “O” referred to omega-3 fatty acids found in salmon. The company used it when discussing the fish’s nutritional qualities and its place in the diet. The omega served as both a letter in the name and a symbol of the product’s health benefits. Its base followed the wordmark’s baseline, while its rounded top contrasted with the angular “M” and “W.”
The black-and-white logo replaced Marine Harvest’s orange-and-blue identity and its later dark version. Black lettering appeared on white backgrounds, while white lettering was used on dark and colored surfaces. The brand launched in the United States on March 20, 2020. The logo was incorporated into the identities of corporate divisions, packaging, and the MOWI Supreme, MOWI Nutrition, and MOWI 4.0 product lines. Every version retained the 4-character name with the omega.
