Mega Sardines is taking a major step toward becoming a global Filipino food brand, expanding across approximately 2,750 Kroger stores and affiliated banners in the United States as Mega Prime Foods Inc. accelerates its international growth.
The U.S. rollout announced on Tuesday, August 18, marks a significant shift for the 51-year-old Philippine sardine brand. Mega Sardines is expected to become the first and, according to the company, the only Filipino brand listed across the Kroger network.
Products are already beginning to reach U.S. shelves, with nationwide availability targeted by mid-September. The rollout includes Kroger and affiliated banners such as Mariano’s, Fry’s, Dillons, and Pick ‘n Save.
For Mega Prime Foods, the U.S. expansion is more than an export milestone. The company sees the Kroger partnership as a platform to reach mainstream American consumers beyond the traditional Filipino and Asian grocery market and to build a broader international business.
The opportunity comes as consumers globally show growing interest in sardines as a convenient and nutrient-dense source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Mega is positioning its sardines not only as an ethnic food product but as a mainstream food with health, convenience, affordability, and sustainability appeal.
“The United States is one of the biggest consumer markets in the world and there is a growing demand for the healthier, more convenient food,” Tiu Lim-Chan said. “And sardines fit perfectly into that. Nutritious, convenient, and sustainable.”
Beyond the ethnic aisle
Mega’s U.S. strategy began with a more limited test within the Kroger network before expanding into a much broader rollout across its retail banners.
The company said the partnership developed after months of market preparation, including participation in U.S. food industry events and meetings with Kroger. Tiu Lim-Chan said the initial rollout beginning in Cincinnati carries particular significance because it follows the company’s efforts to establish a foothold in the American market.
“We came to America with a dream. We joined Expo West.We traveled to Cincinnati. We met with Kroger at their home place. We spent months studying the market, preparing, negotiating, and working to earn our place in their shelves,” she said.
Mega is now looking beyond distribution alone. Marvin Tiu Lim, chief growth and development officer of Mega Prime Foods, said the company’s next phase is focused on building an international platform that can support new markets, partnerships, and business opportunities.
“We are moving beyond simply exporting products from the Philippines,” he said.
“We just don’t want to be in the Filipino-Asian stores. We want our products to be in all mainstream stores in the world.”
The company has recently entered Azerbaijan, Kenya, and Jordan and said at least 10 additional countries are in its development pipeline.
Tiu Lim said the broader ambition is to build a Filipino food company capable of competing at global scale.
“We want to build an international platform that can take Filipino brands abroad, acquire and develop brands in other markets, access new fishing grounds and supply sources, and create businesses that compete at a global scale,” he said.
From fishing company to world-class brand
The international expansion builds on a business that began more than five decades ago as a fishing company founded by William and Marylou Tiu Lim.
Mega Prime Foods founder and chairman William Tiu Lim said its sardines are caught in shallow waters along the continental shelf and processed through a 12-hour catching-to-canning operation capable of producing about 3 million cans a day. Control over its fish supply is also a key part of the company’s product strategy.
Co-founder and vice chair Marylou Tiu Lim said Mega operates three fishing vessels, drawing on more than 15 years of fishing experience to source its sardines directly. She said preservation begins as soon as the fish are caught, a process that distinguishes Mega from other sardine producers.
“We have our own source of fish and we preserve. Our preservation start from catching and to canning, which is very distinct and unique to our company,” she said. “That’s why I’m very, very proud that I can say that this is a product that we can be proud worldwide.” She added that growing interest in nutritious food could further support Mega’s prospects in the U.S. and other markets.
“This is a very important milestone for us because it brings us closer to our purpose to bring pride to Filipinos by providing world-class brands that uplift people’s lives,” said Michelle Tiu Lim-Chan, president and chief executive of Mega Prime Foods.
For the U.S. market, Mega is supplying oil-based sardines suited to American consumption patterns, including use with pasta and bread. This differs from the Philippine market, where consumers commonly pair sardines with rice and prefer products with sauces.
The company’s growth strategy also reflects a broader effort to establish sardines as a global category rather than limiting the product to traditional markets.
At the press conference, Marvin Tiu Lim described the U.S. expansion as only the beginning.
“Ito lang po ang simula sa lahat ng paglaki ng growth ng Mega.”
He said the company’s global push is intended to demonstrate that Filipino companies can compete beyond the country’s borders.
“Because if we can do it, the Philippines can.”
Taking Filipino enterprise global
The U.S. expansion also marks a new chapter for the Tiu Lim family, with the second generation helping drive Mega’s growth beyond the Philippines. Siblings Michelle and Marvin are building on the business founded by their parents, William and Marylou Tiu Lim, more than five decades ago.
That generational shift gives the company’s global ambitions a deeper significance. William Tiu Lim, founder and chairman, said the company’s international reach would have been difficult to imagine when the business began.
“When my wife and I founded Mega 51 years ago, we were a humble fishing company focused on serving the Philippine nation with affordable yet healthy food,” William said. “We could never have imagined entering the massive U.S. market with a customer such as Kroger and adding new countries around the world.”
That evolution is now tied to Mega’s most ambitious goal: becoming the world’s number-one sardine brand.
Marvin said the company wants its global presence to represent more than commercial success.
“We have to showcase the best that the Filipinos can do, and I believe that Mega Sardines is one of the best that we can bring to the whole world.”
For Michelle, seeing the product reach American shelves represents the culmination of months of preparation and investment.
“And now it is happening,” she said.
The company views the Kroger rollout as a launch point for further expansion, with new countries, channels, and partnerships expected to form part of its next stage of growth.
The goal, however, extends beyond sardines. Mega Prime Foods wants to build a broader international platform capable of bringing Filipino brands to global consumers while developing businesses that can compete alongside established international players.
“Our dream is not simply to become a successful Philippine sardine brand. Our dream is for a Filipino brand to become the number-one sardine brand in the world.”
According to data provided by the company, the Mega Sardines brand ranks No. 2 among the world’s largest sardine brands based on estimated revenue from sardine products.
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