Balfegó Grup receives Barcelona’s José Manuel Lara Award for combining tuna leadership, sustainability, innovation, and social commitment
Balfegó Grup Honoured with Prestigious Barcelona Business Award
Balfegó Grup, the world’s leading company in bluefin tuna fishing, aquaculture, and marketing, has been awarded the José Manuel Lara Prize for Business Ambition and Purpose by the Círculo de Economía de Barcelona.
The award, presented by Alicia Romero, Catalonia’s Minister of Economy and Finance, honours companies that operate with a transformative vision, deep commitment to their environment, and sustainability as a strategic pillar. Receiving the prize on behalf of the company was Manel Balfegó, co-president of Balfegó Grup.
The jury highlighted Balfegó’s clear purpose of generating positive environmental and societal impact, maintaining a successful business path based on traceability, technological innovation, gastronomic excellence, and animal welfare. It also acknowledged the company’s ambition to go beyond financial results and help shape a more responsible future for the food industry.
“This recognition, besides filling us with pride, reaffirms our conviction that it is possible to build a business model that combines ambition with responsibility, growth with sustainability, and tradition with innovation,” said Manel Balfegó. “For those unfamiliar with us, yes, we fish and market bluefin tuna, but our real purpose goes beyond the product: we stand for responsible marine resource management, absolute traceability, scientific research, and commitment to society and the environment.”
In recent years, Balfegó has cemented its international leadership through a sustainable growth strategy, recently earning B Corp certification — the first Spanish fishing company to achieve this — recognising its standards in environmental sustainability, social responsibility, transparency, and governance.
Beyond fishing, Balfegó Grup has launched pioneering projects like Tunateca, its Barcelona gastronomic space dedicated to bluefin tuna; Tuna Tour, a unique ecotourism and educational experience; and culinary competitions and training initiatives such as Chef Balfegó and ITAMAE Balfegó. All these efforts are part of an integrated strategy blending excellence, outreach, and sustainability.
Most recently, the company inaugurated its new €35 million facility in L’Ametlla de Mar (Tarragona), a 12,000-square-metre site housing the world’s most advanced bluefin tuna processing plant, replacing the previous facility lost to a 2018 fire. Balfegó forecasts closing its fiscal year in April with €107.6 million in revenue and a workforce of 335 employees.
About Balfegó
The Balfegó family, a large fishing dynasty from L’Ametlla de Mar (Tarragona), pioneered bluefin tuna fishing in the 1980s. After years of effort, they transformed the traditional fishery into a global leader in the capture, study, marketing, and promotion of bluefin tuna.
Balfegó’s wild bluefin tuna live in pens off the Tarragona coast for up to one year, fed exclusively on wild fish. Their drive for excellence has made them the only company worldwide that harvests tuna at its optimal fat level, on client demand, using a stress-free extraction method that ensures top gastronomic quality — a product featured in the world’s finest restaurants.
