Expansive view of northern Norway fishing village Expansive view of northern Norway fishing village

The Rosita Family Story

A natural food company

“Being a Norwegian in this very loving part of the world, I’m representing pure, natural fish liver oils. They’re made from this pristine environment and the oceans around the island of Dønna, where we live.  

Nature creates everything through balance and harmony. This is the most important thing you see when you come to Rosita. It’s all about sustainable living.”

Bengt Svensson, Rosita founder

ship

Learn more about the vision behind our products

Bengt Svensson and Kari Hanne Nyland

Delighted to meet you!

We're the Rosita family

Bengt Svensson and Kari Hanne Nyland

Rosita is a family company born in the remote areas of northern Norway, with husband-wife duo Bengt Svensson and Kari Hanne Nyland at the visionary helm. Lars Åkerøy is our head fisherman. Rose Åkerøy and Rita Edvardsen are sisters who keep our ship running smoothly, hence the lovely name Rosita! Dr. Pieris Nicola, Ph.D. and wife Dr. Shanshan Wang are our in-house research scientists. And Billy Spanier steers our social media.

Our family extends into the United States, too.

Daniel Corrigan, Karen Myers and Archie Welch — pioneers of the real food movement and supplement makers — helped us develop and launch Rosita Extra Virgin Cod Liver Oil for the Americas.

Together, we bring you our ancient tradition of fresh fish oils.

Living in harmony with nature

Our purpose

Fisherman with giant cod

Our ethos is to work with nature to create the highest-quality, health-giving fish liver oils available. This can only mean wild-caught, raw — and completely unprocessed.

Our flagship product, Rosita Extra Virgin Cod Liver Oil, is derived from abundant codfish in the pristine Norwegian fjords. The oil is released from the livers using an ancient, natural method, that requires no heat or mechanical devices. So the delicate fatty acids and naturally-occurring vitamins remain robust and intact.

This type of cod liver oil is nearly impossible to achieve with the standard process used by major brands (where heavy refining strips the oils of most of their nutrients). We devote particular attention to gentle extraction, opting for small batches.

Our family’s mission is to provide sustainable, pure and unadulterated whole supplements to support people throughout their health journeys.

Fisherman with giant cod
Fishing in Lofoten (1920)

Fishing first

From our long line of traditional Norwegian fisherman to your spoon

Fishing in Lofoten (1920)

The Rosita family comes from a long line of Norwegian fishermen who originally went to sea in rowing boats, with experience stretching back to whaling days. We’ve spent decades fishing in the wild Norwegian waters and intend to maintain and preserve our forefathers' methods.

We use small, traditional open boats with shelter decks to sustainably catch our fish.

Many companies that produce fish liver oils import their fish livers (they may also receive livers from a variety of fish species). Yet there’s no substitute for going out and harvesting the fish. This way, we have full control over every stage of liver oil production, from line-catching the wild codfish, to choosing the most beautiful livers, capturing the oil and bottling.

We prepare our cod liver oil with raw, fresh livers of the codfish (Gadus morhua), the same species the Nordic Vikings used. Only perfectly healthy livers of a specific weight, appearance and color are selected; a skill required by seasoned fishermen.

Here’s more information about our Virgin Cod Liver Oil and Ratfish Liver Oil.

Just like it’s important to “know your farmers”

It’s vital to know your fishermen

Norway fishing village

When you put your trust in Rosita products, you know the family itself catches the fish!

Norway fishing village
Fresh cod fish

Where we started

From family fish liver oils to real foodies

Fresh cod fish

The old-time Norwegian fishermen in the Rosita family are incredibly knowledgeable about the creation and grading of cod liver oil. Our parents, grandparents and great grandparents all knew about the rare cod liver oil consumed in Norse culture for its therapeutic and strengthening properties.*

This cod liver oil was created via a precious extraction method, which allows the fresh livers to naturally release the raw, golden oil they contain. And without the need for heat, steam, chemical treatment, rendering or pressure.

We used this method to produce small quantities of genuine ratfish (Chimaera monstrosa) liver oil, for friends and personal use. The Nordic Vikings had termed ratfish liver oil “gold of the ocean” because of its rich nutrients and unique properties.*

We were also producing small amounts of cod liver oil, a natural supplement that we consumed during the frigid winters in Norway. Especially during the period of polar nights that the Norwegians call Mørketid, where the sun never rises throughout the day. We enjoyed dipping wild cod (that we harvested, froze and dried in the frosty air) into our fresh cod liver oil, just like our ancestors did.

The verbal buzz about the historic and nutritious qualities of our oils passed from one neighbor to another, and demand grew. So we decided to use our unparalleled extraction process to handcraft ratfish liver oil for the general public.

Meanwhile, we were connected with Daniel Corrigan, Karen Myers and Archie Welch, pioneers of the real food movement and supplement creators who were highly disappointed with the quality of cod liver oil available in the United States. They had been selling our ratfish liver oil and wanted to provide their customers with raw and unprocessed cod liver oil. With lots of encouragement, knowledge and shared integrity, Dan, Karen and Archie helped us develop and launch Rosita Extra Virgin Cod Liver Oil in the Americas. It was received enthusiastically by real foodies who were seeking such a transparent, pure product.

Photos by Loreto Di Cesare