IMS was founded in 1991 by Morty Nussbaum and his son Marc. It was begun as a small brokerage company representing the U.S. sales and marketing interests of several large packers in Thailand. Containers were sold to large industrial, foodservice and retail accounts, either in private label or packer label. While the primary focus was in shrimp products, the company also represented packers in the sales of squid, fin fish such as red snapper, surimi products and value added shrimp products such as breaded, samosas, spring rolls, shrimp skewers and other similar products.
As the company and its marketing ability became better known, other packers in Indonesia, Myanmar, India, Peru, Ecuador, China and the Persian Gulf engaged IMS to market their products. The aquaculture of shrimp expanded in Asia, first in black tiger shrimp, and then in white shrimp, specifically with the introduction of P.Vannamei into Thailand and China. It became obvious to IMS management in the mid 1990’s that shifting the company into direct importing for its own account provided more revenue and profit opportunities than what brokering for others offered.