Illustrated Coastal scene inspired by Zamboanga City.

Mega

Mega is the Philippines' top-selling sardines brand, canned in Zamboanga City since 2000 by what is now Mega Prime Foods Inc.

At a glance

Notable facts

• Corporate roots trace to 1975, when Wilmar Fishing Corp was established in the Bicol region; the group relocated to Zamboanga City in 1995 as Mega Fishing Corporation, supplying fresh fish to Manila-based canneries.
• Entered canned sardines in 2000 with its Ayala Seafoods Corporation cannery in Zamboanga City, built on a 'freshest sardines in a can' promise of catch-to-can within 12 hours.
• Became the No. 1 sardines brand in the Philippines per the AC Nielsen Retail Audit 2015.
• Built a second Zamboanga canning plant at Talisayan in 2012; the parent rebranded as Mega Global Corporation in 2014, and Mega Prime Foods Inc. was established as its largest subsidiary in 2022.
• Marked its 50th anniversary in 2025; company and press coverage of the milestone explicitly frames Mega Sardines as serving 'nutritionally-packed delicacies to lower income consumers' while pursuing export growth.

Origin

Mega Sardines traces its roots to 1975, when Wilmar Fishing Corp was founded in the Bicol region as a fresh-fish supplier. Two decades later, in 1995, the fishing operation relocated to Zamboanga City and was renamed Mega Fishing Corporation, feeding Manila's canneries with fresh catch. The company's own move into canning came in 2000, when it opened the Ayala Seafoods Corporation plant in Zamboanga and launched Mega Sardines on a simple promise: catch-to-can within 12 hours, "the freshest sardines in a can."

The bet paid off. By 2015, AC Nielsen retail audits ranked Mega as the Philippines' No. 1 sardines brand. The company kept building — a second Zamboanga cannery at Talisayan in 2012, a rebrand to Mega Global Corporation in 2014, and expansion into tuna, canned produce, and beverages through the following decade, with Mega Prime Foods Inc. emerging in 2022 as the group's largest subsidiary.

In 2025, the company marked Mega Sardines' 50th anniversary (counting from its 1975 fishing-company origins), with press coverage explicitly describing the brand's mission as delivering affordable, nutrient-dense protein to lower-income Filipino households — even as it now eyes global export markets.

Products

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