US trade group agrees to manage new shrimp promotion group

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has agreed to organize and operate the fledgling Global Shrimp Council, which is working to boost global shrimp consumption through a promotional campaign.

In September, Global Shrimp Council co-founders David Castro from Manta Bay Seafood and Gabriel Luna from Gluna Shrimp announced plans for formation of the group during the Global Shrimp Forum meeting in the Netherlands.

NFI already manages collaborative work as part of its council system for tuna, crab, shrimp, mexican shrimp, sushi, and salmon.

“We are excited to get started on this work,” said Brandon Phillips, NFI’s vice president of external affairs and councils.

“Creating a structure for the group, collecting funding and instituting a management structure aren’t quite as sexy as live-fire promotion and marketing. But it’s these foundational things that need to be done first. And they are getting underway.”

More than 20 shrimp producers held talks during the event aimed at creating the Global Shrimp Council.

There has already been nearly a year’s worth of preliminary work done on the effort guided by one of the architects of the Avocados from Mexico strategy. Governance, finance, and membership composition will be the first tenets addressed by NFI and the new group’s leadership.

Per capita consumption of avocados in the United States increased by more than 278 percent between 2000 and 2021 thanks to a targeted industry-wide drive in the 1990s to grow demand.

The case study was featured in a report earlier this year from the Global Shrimp Forum Foundation rounding up key areas of marketing development that could help put an end to the roller coaster ride of shrimp demand and prices.

One of the key drivers for the marketing campaign for the avocado industry, along with several others, is to highlight the health benefits of the product. In the case of avocados, eggs and mushrooms, this was done through a specially formed board that combined sound scientific research on the product with strong marketing campaigns focusing on health and nutrition.

The shrimp industry, too, could benefit from such a campaign, is one of the conclusions of the report written by independent marketing consultant Arnd Jan Gulmans, who spent the past six months conducting interviews with experts and leaders from across the industry.