Our Story
Brunswick® is the #1 canned sardines brand in Canada. Sardines are caught off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and packaged in our plant in the beautiful community of Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick.
Connors Bros. is a Maritime success story. Incorporated in 1893, it has earned the distinction of spanning three centuries of operation, providing premium seafood products to people around the world and bearing a legacy as proud as the seagoing folk of the Maritimes.
How It All Started
It all began more than 125 years ago, in 1885 in a small Canadian fishing village, when brothers Lewis and Patrick Connors took their small boat named “Hummingbird” into the cool, clear waters off Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick.
A few years later, they built a fishing weir to capitalize on the sizable stocks of sardine-sized herring that appeared in the clear, cool waters of the Bay of Fundy each summer. Inspired by their leadership, other fishers arrived and began constructing weirs, an opportunity not unnoticed by the ever-industrious Lewis Connors, who soon opened a general store to provide the newcomers with essentials.
Building a Future
About 1889, the brothers tried their hands at canning blueberries and then baked haddock (Finnan Haddie). The product line was quickly expanded to include canned scallops and clams, which were produced in significant quantities.
Always wanting to do more, the brothers brought canning equipment from Eastport, USA to Blacks Harbour, NB, Canada. They quickly expanded into learning the latest canning technology to preserve and sell their seafood and began canning sardines in cottonseed oil and mustard.
Business grew, and with it their appetite to expand. In 1893, the two formed a joint-stock company, appropriately naming it Connors Bros., Limited. Two years later, the company started producing machine-made cans, a welcome advance from the days of hand-production. With this efficiency, larger warehouses and new buildings were required. The fishing fleet grew too, and other processing plants were acquired.
What began as a way for the Connors brothers to feed their family high-quality, nutritious food quickly grew into a passion to share their wholesome discovery with the rest of the world.
We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings on a small boat. But first and foremost, we’re still a family business at heart. And our focus on providing quality nutrition to families throughout Canada remains as strong as the day we first began.
Brunswick® Today
For adults conscious about healthy and affordable food choices, Brunswick® is the brand that has been bringing superfood of the sea from the East Coast to Canadians since 1893.
The Brunswick® brand name soon resonated with consumers across Canada, and later in many foreign countries. Over the years Connors continued to innovate and modernize its operations to become the world’s largest processor of canned sardines.
It is because of our unwavering commitment to quality and continued innovation that Brunswick® is the #1 canned sardine brand in Canada.*
Brunswick® Quality
Products
Brunswick® offers a variety of canned seafood products. Brunswick® Sardines and Sardine Fillets Seafood Snacks are still made today in a variety of delicious sauces at Connors’ state-of-the-art processing plant in New Brunswick, Canada.
Although canning and cooking methods vary from one product to another, they must all pass strict quality control measures before they earn the Brunswick® label.
In addition to being a name you can trust, Brunswick® Sardines and Sardine Fillets are power-packed with nutrients — omega-3, protein, calcium, iron, potassium and vitamin D. Enjoy Brunswick® Sardines every week as part of a healthy lifestyle. Eating two cans of Brunswick® Sardines a week provides between 2 and 3 grams of the omega-3 you need to promote good health.
Go ahead, open a can today. It’s a Healthy Habit!
Brunswick® Quality Assurance
An integral component of Brunswick® Quality Assurance is our intensive supplier and product development processes that meet or exceed our company standards. Achieving the desired results is accomplished by utilizing the expertise of Brunswick® Technical Services and Quality Assurance department.
The combination of industry experience, science-based food safety system and quality inspection throughout the life cycle of our products is your guarantee of the safety and high quality you’ve come to expect from a brand leader like Brunswick®.
OUR FAMILY TRADITION OF QUALITY LIVES ON.
*Nielsen Market Track Latest 52 weeks $ share and volume share in the canned sardine category.
How Sardines Are Made
Packing
Several types of lines are used to pack Brunswick Sardines, such as the traditional hand packing line, a semi-automatic packing line, and a fully-automated line.
Pre-cooking
Cans containing fish are placed onto racks, which are then placed into a pre-cooker which uses steam for cooking, reducing the moisture content and firming the fish.
Seaming
The cooked cans are taken out of the racks and placed onto the seaming line where Brunswick's delicious sauces are added before the cans are sealed.
Retorting
The retort is a high-pressure vessel used for cooking and sterilization. Upon completion the cans are removed, drained and cooled before handling. During this stage, the bones in the sardines (a great source of calcium) are softened.
Packaging
The last step of the packing process is to put the cans into the final packaging. Brunswick products are then shipped to over 50 countries around the world.
Quality Assurance
Brunswick operates under rigorous quality and food safety standards at each stage of the process, including a Quality Management Plan approved by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).