Premier Vietnamese fish sauce brand Son Fish Sauce is now available in Whole Foods outlets across the country.
The details: Whole Foods has officially launched Son Fish Sauce in its Arizona, California, Connecticut, Idaho, New Jersey and New York locations. This is the first time in the sauce brand’s over-70-year history that it will be more accessible to general consumers in multiple states.
While the brand has been in California since 2014, it previously passed on distributors, with owner Danny Tran personally delivering cases to Asian supermarkets. But together with his wife Albee — the great-granddaughter of Son Fish Sauce founder and fish sauce industry figure Khon Van Pham — they hustled to bring bottles of their product to as many diverse communities as possible.
About the product: Founded in 1951 in Vietnam’s Son Rai Island, Son Fish Sauce distinguishes itself as an artisanal product. The family owns a fleet of boats that harvest wild anchovies all year round from the island. Because these anchovies have very small stomachs, they give the fish sauce “high protein content and a much more fragrant smell,” according to the company. As soon as they are caught, they are salted on the boat before undergoing a year-long fermentation and a meticulous extraction process.
Son Fish Sauce has won multiple awards around the world. It has also been used by more Michelin, James Beard and The World’s 50 Best restaurants than other fish sauce brands, according to its press release.
