Illustrated Coastal scene inspired by Erongo, near Walvis Bay.

Princess Brand

The revival of a historic Namibian pilchard brand name — on horse mackerel cans. 'Princess' was a decades-old pilchard brand from before the fishery's collapse; with the pilchard moratorium in force since 2018, Princess Brand Processing (rebranded from Seaflower Pelagic Processing in January 2022) commissioned a new Walvis Bay cannery around 2022 and put the trusted old name on canned horse mackerel instead.

At a glance

Notable facts

• Management has explicitly said it is 'leveraging' the reputable old pilchard brand name — a collapsed-sardine nation putting a heritage sardine brand on horse mackerel cans.
• Namibia's pilchard (Sardinops sagax) fishery has been under a full moratorium since 2018, so no pilchard product is possible; the cans are horse mackerel.
• The new cannery, commissioned around 2022, has capacity for roughly 450 jobs; the MD told The Namibian (2025) the plant could employ 450 people and run at capacity within 45 days if given a pilchard quota.
• Company background details (AST parent, rebrand date, retrenchments at predecessor Seaflower) are single-sourced to New Era; whether Princess-branded cans are currently on retail shelves is unverified.

Behind the tin

Princess Brand is packed at Princess Brand Processing — Walvis Bay in Walvis Bay, Namibia.

primary of Princess Brand are packed at Princess Brand Processing — Walvis Bay, Walvis Bay — not the brand's whole range.

Products

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