Illustrated Coastal scene inspired by Massachusetts, near Cambridge.

Bela

Bela Brand Seafood is a family- and veteran-owned US tinned-fish brand founded in 1997 by Joshua Scherz, known for bringing sardines packed in organic extra virgin olive oil to the US market and for canning in Olhão, Portugal.

At a glance

Notable facts

• Founded in 1997 by Joshua Scherz, who partnered with his mother Florence after leaving the US Air Force; the company describes itself as the only 100% family- and veteran-owned seafood brand in the US.
• Bela states it was the first brand to bring sardines packed in organic extra virgin olive oil to the US market.
• Products are hand-packed in Olhão, Portugal by long-term family-owned cannery partners following generations-old conservas traditions.
• In January 2025, Bela completed its first brand refresh in 28 years, relaunching with new packaging and a direct-to-consumer website (belabrandseafood.com).
• Listed HQ/registered address is Cambridge, Massachusetts, per business-directory records (RocketReach); not independently confirmed on the brand's own site.

Origin

Bela was founded in 1997 by Joshua Scherz, who grew up around New England's fishing culture, studied near Monterey Bay, and served as an airman in the US Air Force before turning to canned seafood. He partnered with his mother, Florence, at a moment when much of the US canning industry was in decline, and built Bela around a claim the brand still leads with: it was the first to bring sardines packed in organic extra virgin olive oil to American shelves.

Rather than build its own cannery, Bela partners with family-owned canneries in Olhão, a Portuguese fishing town, hand-packing fish using generations-old conservas methods. The brand held the same look for 28 years before a full relaunch in January 2025 — new packaging, a new "Everyone's Welcome to the Table" tagline, and a direct-to-consumer website — positioning it inside the broader American tinned-fish boom while still marketing itself as the only 100% family- and veteran-owned seafood brand in the country.

Products

Compiled from public reporting and the brand's own materials. Spot something we got wrong? Tell us.
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