Our story is that of a family linked to the world of fish and seafood for over a century. A story of work, intuition and ability to adapt.
It all starts with our grandfather, Vicenç Carbó Damians , born in Sants in 1909, who himself said that he was known as “el pinxo de Sants” . The adopted son of a seafood vendor, he started working when he was just 9 years old. With a cave on his head, he would travel the streets to Barceloneta to sell fish, learning from a young age the value of effort and direct dealings with customers.
Our grandmother, Soletat Segarra Ballester , came from a family with mussel farms in Barceloneta. Together they decided to settle in Sabadell, where she was already selling mussels. At that time, regulations did not allow selling fish and shellfish in the same establishment, which led our grandfather to set up his own stall. That was the beginning of a business that would never stop growing.
During the 1950s, the family took a key step by expanding the activity with an ice factory in Sabadell , essential at a time when the cold chain was not yet developed. The ice supplied seafood vendors as well as industries (dyes, sausages) and homes, when refrigerators were not yet common.
Over the years, the business evolved to participate in one of the first ships with freezers on board , a venture ahead of its time. However, at the end of the 1960s, this adventure suffered a hard blow: the ship sank loaded with merchandise and the factory began to lose weight in a changing market. The difficulties accumulated.
On December 22, 1969, an unexpected event changed everything: Centre d’Esports Sabadell, of which our grandfather was a member of the board of directors, won the Christmas Lottery jackpot. This made it possible to recover the losses and ensure the continuity of the family project.
The business was consolidated and grew to manage 9 stalls in the Central Market of Sabadell and 6 in the Creu Alta Market , becoming a local benchmark.
On January 31, 1986, at the age of 16, I fully joined the family business. It was an intense period: seafood vendors, an ice factory, buying at the Barcelona auction and working at Mercabarna, with days that started at 3 am and ended anywhere along the chain.
After my military service, I officially started working at Mercabarna in my father's company. I started as a laborer, replacing any salesperson when needed, which allowed me to gain experience in products such as tuna, coastal fish and bluefish, as well as in direct purchasing at the Barcelona fish market.
Over time, I became responsible for the sale of tuna and later the frozen product from Tunisia. The days started at 2 in the morning, but they were intense and exciting years, which made you enjoy the job.
In 2001, with the birth of my third daughter and a growing need for work-life balance, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and explore new opportunities.
It was then that a new stage opened with Icelandic Ibérica , where for 3 years I managed the Tunisian market and developed new clients. It was a very enriching experience and an important contrast with the traditional market: the move to an Icelandic multinational.
After a brief period at Interaliment, I had the opportunity to work again with one of the people who has most influenced me professionally, Magnus B. Jónsson , who hired me as Commercial Director of the frozen department at Iceland Seafood .
They were 13 years that, despite starting with difficulties, became the best stage of my professional career.
Following the merger between Icelandic and Iceland Seafood, and not fitting into the new structure, I agreed to leave, with a one-year period of inactivity. Subsequently, I continued my career for 4 years at Globalimar .
Finally, after this accumulated experience and with a clear vision of the sector, I decided to take the step and create my own company.
Thus Omnisapiens was born.
