Wednesday, March 19, 9:30 pm EST
Just in the nick of Maritime
In the Southern United States, the Georgia "Royal Reds" are often thought of as a premiere shrimp with 16/20s selling for anywhere between the the high $5 and low $6 range.
So when Maritime Products International-based in Virginia, wanted to expand its product line, the company turned to its Argentinian cousin and partnered with Grupo Veraz about four years ago to bring the red shrimp to the United States.
Production and sales of the shrimp didn't ramp up, however, until the massive outbreaks of Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) throughout some of the world's largest exporters.
Frederico Angeleri, whose family owns Grupo Veraz and the fleet of nine vessels harvesting shrimp and hake, told IntraFish, the challenge was in recovering the lost market.
Last year Gruop Veraz bought Explotacion Pesquera de La Patagonia (Pespasa) owned by seafood giant Nippon Suisan Kaisah (Nissui) and harvested roughly 3,300 metric tons with the aim to double that total in 2014.
"We have major retailers and national restaurant chains all interested in these shrimp," said Sarah Hayes, Martime's national sales manager. "These are all chem-free products with direct chain of custody so people know how it was caught, where it was caught, who caught it and then who processed it."
With 60 percent of the company's product line being sold to retailers currently, Hayes said the popularity of the red shrimp will certainly drive more of the business into food service as consumers learn about the shrimp.
Angeleri said there's only 20 or so companies harvesting the shrimp off the waters of Argentina, but the amount caught each year has grown at an incredible rate, of roughly 20,000 metric tons per year since 2011.
"We fully expect to grow the business as the fishery is doing well and the government managing it is making sure its not being over harvested," he said.
--Josh Stilts
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Tuesday, March 18, 3pm EST
Need help financing your procurement or inventory?
If you are a seafood supplier looking for a service to help with financing your procurement or inventory, then Blu Arctic might be the partner for you.
The company, headed by Thomas Leissl, has offices in the United States and Canada but operates worldwide.
It takes ownership of a supplier’s seafood during transport and storage, allowing the supplier to draw out the inventory as it needs it.
There are many reasons a supplier might chose to partner with Blu Arctic, said Leissl, including temporary capital limitations or the ability to achieve greater volume discounts by allowing Blue Arctic to procure and store larger lots.
--John Fiorillo
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Tuesday, March 18, 2:11pm EST
Gulf Pride growing on East Coast, Midwest
Frozen or fresh, it doesn't seem to matter as more and more people can't get enough of Gulf Pride's catfish and shrimp products.
"Kroger has really stepped up to the plate for us and we're growing with them," said Gulf Pride President Wally Gollott.
Annually Gollott harvests between 12 and 18 million pounds of head on shrimp from the waters of Mississippi, he said.
And as catfish grows in popularity in the retail market, the company's been able to increase its production, according to Kenny Crawford Gulf Pride's product manager.
"The goal now is to gradually move up the East Coast and Midwest in retail for both catfish and shrimp," he said.
--Josh Stilts
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Tuesday, March 18, 1:56pm EST
Bacon, chips and salsa Treasures could hit Walmart shelves soon
The creative team at Treasures of the Sea appeared to find another buried treasure with their cheddar bacon ranch sol, and chips and salsa tilapia after running out of samples each day of the expo.
The Walmart and Sam's Club supplier is hoping the response from showgoers is a sign that consumers are looking for more value-added products like their sol and tilapia, a spokesperson told IntraFish.
--Josh Stilts
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Tuesday, March 18, 1:28pm EST
Putting a stick in tuna and swordfish
As grilling season is just a few weeks away, Island Brand Seafood Imports is launching what they think will be the next big sizzle, yellowfin tuna kabobs.
Importing more than 1 million pounds of yellowfin, swordfish, bluefin and aturo annually, the company is able to provide a wide-range of sushi and sashimi quality fish, Anthony Andrews, of Island Brand, said.
The new yellowfin kabobs is 4 ounces of yellowfin, and comes in a pack of four, ideal for two people, he said.
"We also have swordfish and yellowfin chunks for people who want to make their own kabobs and add vegetables along with them," Andrews said.
--Josh Stilts
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Tuesday, March 18, 1pm EST
The next big thing in breakfast is salmon
Following the success of its salmon bacon, Miami-based MacKnight unveiled its new salmon breakfast sausage and some of the largest US retailers are already lining up to place orders.
According to a company spokesman, Captain Jim's Breakfast Sausage, which will retail for approximately, $3.99 per pound, and could be hitting the shelves in Walmart and Kroger stores soon.
Modeled after after the wildly successful Jimmy Dean's brand sausage, the Atlantic salmon is seasoned with red pepper, sage, black pepper and other spices to give it just the taste, company spokesman said.
"We have it seasoned really well so people don't even know its salmon," he said. "You'd think it was pork."
--Josh Stilts
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Tuesday, March 18, 12:46pm EST
Marlees expands further
Zeke Shahin, Marlees president and CEO, said the company is growing by leaps and bounds.
It recently signed a supply deal with a Newfoundland fishing company that will supply snow crab for Marlees to sell.
He also said the company has opened a plant and shrimp farms in the Philippines, which will supply black tiger shrimp and other products
--John Fiorillo
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Tuesday, March 18, 12pm EST
The rise of the pouch
Oregon Seafoods is seeing people flock to its pouched, rip-top tuna, Oregon Albacore Commission's Nancy Fitzpatrick told IntraFish.
The pouches range from 3oz to 8oz and the smaller "sport pouches" are being sold in national outdoor recreational goods chain REI and Fitzpatrick said Oregon Seafoods owner Mike Babcock is targeting gyms next.
"It's easy, it's rip-top and it's a lot of protein," she said.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Tuesday, March 18, 11:02am EST
Under assessment
The Southern red king crab from Nova Fisheries is under full MSC assessment -- and "we hope it will complete full assessment this year," Nova President Robert Simon told IntraFish.
The crab is from the South Atlantic, different from the red king crab of South Pacific, from Chile and Peru, which "is a very spiny crab."
"It's almost identical in taste and experience," Simon said.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Tuesday, March 18, 11:00 am EST
Stabilizing salmon
Stability is a common goal for buyers and suppliers in any market, and Chilean salmon is no exception.
Salmon trading platform SalmonEx has gotten the majority of Chile’s salmon producers on board, but getting sellers convinced is harder.
“We’re trying to get them to understand that this is not collusion, and that they can trust the transparenctey of the prices,” SalmonEx’s Javier Pero said. “We have to convince them that this is the best way to bring stability.”
Some buyers have noted prices on SalmonEx are higher than those reported by Urner Barry, but Pero noted that his company’s data is much more reliable.
“We have information on real sales, not just estimates,” he said.
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, March 18, 10:41am EST
Challenges of certification
When asked about the more difficult parts of nabbing certification, AquaChile CEO Alfonso de la Plata and Loblaw's Melanie Agopian didn't need to stop and think about the answers.
"Challenging is everything," de la Plata joked.
Turning serious, he said dealing with sea lice challenges in order to be certified is extremely challenging.
On the retail side, Agopian said "it's very difficult to communicate to a customer an interim position," she said. "This is a long-term journey."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Tuesday, March 18, 10:45 am EST
Taste the difference
When it comes to barramundi, there are differences in what you get, and Jim Craig, who is selling Indonesia-raised barramundi from Fega Marikultura, is trying to get the market to taste those differences.
“This is a tropical water fish – it does not taste the same when it’s raised in freshwater,” Craig said. “When you try it, you like it, especially when it’s grown in saltwater.”
The company already has some major companies selling its fish, including Trident Seafoods and Lee Fish, but is looking for broader distribution.
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, March 18, 10:33pm EST
Recipe for seafood pasta success
Two of the biggest selling food items in the world are pasta and pizza and so Noam Weinberg Sehayek set out to figure a way to combine pasta and seafood like never before. By making the noodles out of it.
Sehayek's Israel-based company, Gradient Aquaculture, started designing and testing the product that would ultimately be named Pasta del Mar, a couple of years ago, but before putting it out on the market, he wanted to make absolutely sure it something that would turn heads.
"We need to have the right bite," Jeff Singleton, spokesman for the company, told IntraFish. "And we also have to make it taste good."
By utilizing just the right mixture of Alaska pollock from Trident, water, flour, salt, olive oil and seasonings, Singleton said they found the right combination.
After purchasing blocks of pollock from the US, all the products are then shipped for processing at the company's plant in Angulas Aguinaga, Spain, before being shipping and packaged in the United States.
"It's high protein, low carbs and ready to eat hot or cold," he said. "Initially we tried surimi but the noodles broke. Now you can get the noodles and put your mother's favorite pasta sauce on it and it's ready to eat."
The next challenge will be getting the product in the hands of consumers but Singleton said that shouldn't be a problem after handing out three times more the samples than they had initially anticipated.
The product was so popular during the show, that at least two "large seafood companies" made offers right then to buy the entire company, Singleton told IntraFish.
"This is a premium product for retail or food service," he said.
--Josh Stilts
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Tuesday, March 18, 10:28am EST
Focusing on farmed
Melanie Agopian, senior sustainability director at Canadian retail giant Loblaw's, said she is committed to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) -- more tan 85 percent of the $31 billion company are either ASC or MSC certified.
"Aquaculture has been one of our key areas of focus," Agopian said, adding that the company has 4 warehouses and more than 200 stores that are Chain of Custody certified for fresh and frozen tilapia. They will be certified for salmon "in the next few months" and are "making progress on tropical shrimp."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Tuesday, March 18, 10:08 am EST
Trust in sushi
We’ve all had the experience of wondering just where the fish in that random sushi restaurant you stopped by sourced its fish. Japanese company Tokai Denpun is a household name for surimi production in Japan, but the company is hoping it can make its brands household names in quality sushi as well.
Tokai Denpun sales executive Koichi Hara said the company has been pushing its Takumi brand in the US as a high-quality sushi option, along with its full line of other sushi products. Not all fish start off branded. Once a fish picks up in popularity – hamachi is currently the hottest, he said – then the company will look into putting Takumi brand on it.
“Now, a lot of restaurants will tell us, ‘We only want Takumi brand,” he said.
--Drew Cherry
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Tuesday, March 18, 9:08 am EST
Catfish producer wants to expand US presence
Harvest Select President Randy Rhodes said the catfish business has been good this year and he's hoping the next market to conquer will be in the Midwest.
With the company's Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification renewed for 2014, Harvest is primed to grow its brand in the United States, he said.
--Josh Stilts
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Monday, March 17, 5:13 pm EST
Doing it for the children, people and the US
After several reports surfaced in the last year regarding allegations of human trafficking and child labor in Thailand, officials committed to ending the practice in the country's seafood businesses within two years at the Seafoo Expo North America.
Minister Saroj Thanasunti, of the Royal Thai Embassy, said the country's pledge is holding strong and that huge strides are being made to ensure it doesn't happen again.
"Thailand is hard at work to stop human trafficking because we care about our citizen workers and we care deeply about our long standing relationship with the United States," he said. "We fully understand the serious nature of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking problems within our country."
To end both practices, government officials released a list of five primary evens, including prosecution, protection, prevention, policies & implementation, an cooperation.
Thai Frozen Foods Association President, Poj Aramwattananot, said the role the private sector is playing in eradicating child labor and forced labor is vitally important.
"We in the private sector are eager to work with the government authorities to enforce policies that will lead to termination of child and force labor," she said.
--Josh Stilts
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Monday, March 17, 4:47 pm EST
Southern Style Seafood Gumbo from the NW?
Ivar's has dominated the calm chowder market in the Pacific Northwest for decades so it's only natural their next step is to be the number one selling gumbo there also.
At the Seafood Expo North America, the Mukilteo, Washington-based seafood, soup and sauce company gave showgoers the first taste of its new Southern Style Seafood Gumbo with shrimp, okra, tomatoes, and Chilean rock crab.
"It's got just enough heat, warm to appeal to everyone," a spokesperson said.
Although the gumbo isn't available for sale yet, he said it should be hitting major grocery outlets including Safeway, Albertsons and Metro Market in and around the Pacific North West in the next 30 days or so.
--Josh Stilts
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Monday, March 17, 4:45pm EST
'Producing a great product is not enough'
AquaChile CEO Alfonso Marquez de la Plata said he doesn't mind his critics -- they keep his company from being complacent.
"We also learned we didn't know a lot about our final consumer," he said. "We learned that producing a great product is not enough."
It was one of the reasons AquaChile was prompted to join the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI), and de la Plata is a co-chair, as well.
"When you're in an industry that is changes so much," he said. "Continuous improvement is something you live by."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Monday, March 17, 3:55pm EST
Clearer picture on Thailand and EMS coming
Jim Gulkin, CEO at Siam Canadian, says we'll know in late April or early May how EMS will effect the first crop of shrimp in 2014.
Lots of efforts have been put in place to manage EMS, including lower stocking densities in ponds and testing for any traces of the EMS virus in the shrimp production chain.
Producers are optimistic they have gotten ahead of the disease, but more will be known in a month or so. If all goes well, the country could produce $350,000 tons this year, he said.
-- John Fiorillo
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Monday, March 17, 3:25pm EST
Shrimp certification is coming -- for real this time
ASC's Esther Luiten said shrimp certification standards are coming soon.
"You're looking at me like 'You've said that before' but this time its reality," she said to an audience during the ASC update panel.
Currently, 75 farms in 10 countries have ASC certification, along with with 955 products from 36 countries.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Monday, March 17, 3pm EST
Olympic commitment already paying off
The December 2013 commitment by the 2016 Rio Olympics to only serve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is already beginning to yield results for the certification bodies.
"It's already created an incredible momentum ... for Brazilian farmers to gain ASC certification," ASC Director Chris Ninnes said.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Monday, March 17, 2pm EST
Lessons learned
The Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) conducted three case studies relating to disease, what George Chamberlain called "the number one risk inhibiting the aquaculture sector."
The lessons learned from the studies, which included Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) in Chile, Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) in Vietnam and whitespot in Mozambique and Madagascar, show that the top reasons for disease are:
Close proximity of farms, unregulated transfer of animals, stress from crowding the fish, poor sanitation, inadequate veterinary services and limited cooperation among farmers and government.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Monday, March 17, 1 pm EST
A whole new conversation
Last year, Russian pollock suppliers spent most of the Boston Seafood Show answering questions about the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) process for the Sea of Okhotsk fishery.
This year, according to Russian Pollock Catchers Association’s (PCA) Alexey Buglak, the discussion has changed completely.
But even with quality and sustainability questions answered, the market is the biggest challenge now.
“Our companies expected the MSC would be a real big commercial benefit, but the market is weak,” Buglak said.
Russian processors have harvested around 600,000 metric tons of their roughly 1.6 million metric tons of quota, but the market challenges have changed the mix dramatically.
Production of single frozen pin-bone out blocks -- not a significant portion of the catch, but an increasingly important one -- has fallen by 33 percent compared to the same time this year, to 13,500 metric tons. Producers have moved up production of H&G blocks instead, which is a slightly better market (though certainly not where it should be, Buglak said).
The drop in pin-bone out fillets shows there is capacity to produce single-frozen product, Buglak notes, a development the industry will see more and more of.
“If the market signals are good, they’ll start to build new capacity for single frozen, but I think all companies would prefer a flexible strategy,” Buglak said.
Would that mean perhaps a move into to some surimi production? “Could be,” Buglak said.
Quality, though, is the biggest message Russian pollock producers are getting across right now.
“They’re producing good quality -- the Russian standards are strict,” he said.
--Drew Cherry
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Monday, March 17, 12:27 pm EST
Handy aims to be even more handy in US bars
After the successful launch of Gastropub at last year's show, Handy's is adding to its line of pub-style, small plate offerings.
"The idea is that everything is parable with wine or beer," said Kathryn Byrd, marketing coordinator for Handy. "We've tried to make them all versatile to be used in any restaurant and all of them have that pub feel."
Handy ran out of its samples for each of its five new products, including fiery shrimp risotto frito, grillin' oysters, crunchy coated shrimp and crab macaroni and three cheese, Buffalo shrimp and crab dip-bites and fiesta chipotle fish cakes.
"It was all about adding different, trendy flavors. We design everything with Whole Foods in mind and also make sure it can be sold in Wegman's and Kroger," she said.
--Josh Stilts
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Monday, March 17, 12:27 pm EST
Ark Seafood slides swordfish onto plates
In an effort to grow its market branding and name recognition, Ark Seafood added Chilean swordfish sliders to its offerings.
Managing director Alan Kiwi, told IntraFish, the CO-treated swordfish from Patagonia Fisheries, allows them to bring in a fresh product to cafes, restaurants and retailers in the United States.
--Josh Stilts
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Monday, March 17, 12:22 pm EST
Wholey wows retailers
US-based Wholey is adding seven new value-added products to its retail line, including crab bites, crab cakes and fish fingers.
Joe Vanzandt, seafood director of Wholey, said the company is continuously looking to add to its brand and unveiling products at the Seafood Expo North America show has always been successful.
"It always launches very well for us," he said. "We've grown to 129 SKUs."
He added that partnering with Dockside Classics to package its private label products has been a "great success."
--Josh Stilts
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Monday, March 17, 12:14 pm EST
Rebel with a cause
Marine Harvest’s Rebel Fish brand was timed for launch almost immediately prior to the Boston show, and the fanfare around it has created “very good” buzz among buyers, said Linda Rank, director of marketing and new product development at Marine Harvest.
“People love the name, they love the packaging,” Rank told IntraFish. “It’s stopping people, they're picking it up. That was the whole idea.”
Rank has been able to pull some buyers back into the private rooms and microwave them some of the product.
The result? “They’ve been blown away,” Rank said. “ I couldn't be more pleased.”
The company expects the lines to be available within two months, with the initial target being West Coast retailers.
--Drew Cherry
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Monday, March 17, 12:09 pm EST
What are you smoking?
Acme Smoked Fish is continuing to work on innovative offerings in what has become an increasingly crowded smoked salmon market in the United States.
The latest is its smoked salmon and blini combo packs, joining its range of other value-added products.
Even though blinis are more of an East Coast staple, and less known in other parts of the country, “I think it will be a great opportunity to introduce smoked salmon to people that don’t know how to eat it,” Gabriel Viteri, vice president of strategy and business development said.
The company has launched several “on-the-go” products onto the US market, including most notably its salmon jerky item, which keeps growing, even in the face of one very direct “me too” competitor.
“The feedback on the jerky has been great,” Viteri said. “The next challenge is distribution.”
Since its launch, the company has landed its products into Whole Foods, but the challenge lies in where to position the product for a demographic that wants what is essentially an outdoor food. Currently, the product is more often placed in the seafood area, rather than a jerky area.
“The nice thing is that Whole Foods store managers have flexibility, so they can be a bit more creative in the placement of it,” Viteri said.
--Drew Cherry
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Monday, March 17, 10:45 am EST
Lobster tales
Carl Wilson, of the Maine department of Marine Resources, said lobster growth in the Gulf of Maine in the last 30 years has been “unprecedented,” but cautioned that “change is coming.”
If the fishery sees any decline in stock, Wilson said it's imperative to get ahead of it now and market the lobsters with the help of the Maine Lobster Marketing Institute.
Currently, lobsters are the second most valuable fishery on the East Coast at roughly $425 million annually, second only to scallops at $550 million.
-- Josh Stilts
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Monday, March 17, 10:42 am EST
Tilapia’s dreamweaver
Israel Snir is closing in on his dream of making growing and processing tilapia anywhere possible with the unveiling of his new filleting machine.
Partnering with Pisces, Snir said his fifth iteration of the machine, years in the making, is finally a reality.
“It’s a very old dream come true,” he said. “After many failures we can finally say we have reliable technology that every big city can produce and grow tilapia.”
Several of the biggest tilapia companies have already approached Snir and Pisces at their booth about ordering machines, he said.
-- Josh Stilts
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Monday, March 17, 9:45 am EST
Clearwater CEO: MSC simply the right thing to do
Clearwater has been with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) since 2006.
About 3 million packs of Clearwater branded product now carry the MSC logo, Clearwater CEO Ian Smith told those gathered at Monday’s morning MSC update meeting at the Boston seafood show.
The company has invested millions in MSC certification over the last eight years, he said.
"We've done it because it’s simply the right thing to do if you’re are a resource owner as Clearwater is," Smith said.
--John Fiorillo
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Monday, March 17, 9:38 am EST
Lobster-first surimi
US surimi manufacturer Shining Ocean is working on a “lobster-first” surimi product for release maybe as soon as July.
The owner of the Kamini brand also was showing off its new shrimp salad and crabmeat mix, utilizing a blend of coldwater shrimp and surimi. The flavor of the shrimp infuses with the surimi, providing a unique tasting surimi seafood.
--John Fiorillo
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Monday, March 17, 9:34 am EST
MSC looking for foodservice operators
The MSC is looking to boost the number of foodservice operations involved in its chain of custody certification (COC) program.
To achieve this goal, the eco-label group is now doing a full review of its COC program. The review will focus on clarifying the requirements for both certification bodies and their foodservice clients.
Additionally, it seeks to improve the efficiency and rigor of the chain of custody.
--John Fiorillo
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Monday, March 17, 9:22 am EST
Riding a High
The first quarter will end up being a tough one for the frozen foodservice seafood sector, High Liner CEO Henry Demone said, and while he “hates the weather excuse,” he noted it was particularly brutal this year.
“When you have five inches of snow in Atlanta, that hurts the foodservice side,” he said.
That said, the Lent season -- when around 35-40 percent of High Liner’s American sales are made -- may benefit from what Demone called “the cabin fever effect,” and may see some increase in foot traffic.
The company has some very specific targets for the year, and high on the list is continuing to search for large or bolt-on acquisitions, and creating a succession plan for the company (though Demone denied that he’s getting out of the business).
On the consolidation side, Demone said the landscape for large branded retail companies is fairly clear -- Nissui’s Gorton’s, Rich Products’ SeaPak and Pinnacle Foods’ Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s -- High Liner is not currently in negotiations on any deals.
“If we could pull off a big one, that would be great,” he said, but said bolt-ons are a more likely move.
High Liner has expanded primarily on the East Coast, but its presence in the west coast hasn’t been from any fear of moving into other competitors’ territory, but rather from the simple fact that the opportunities have arisen on the East Coast.
Demone conceded the expanding players in the North American frozen seafood segment have come down to two big groups -- High Liner and Trident Seafoods -- but it’s not a zero-sum game.
“It’s like Coke and Pepsi,” he said. “They compete every day.”
He also noted the business models are very different with Trident’s vertical integration capabilities (Trident used to be a supplier, incidentally, but not any more).
Though Demone said he would "never say never" on moving higher up the value chain, "one of the great advantages is that we have been focused."
The latest move for High Liner, of course, is from a west coast giant. American Pride, which High Liner purchased from American Seafoods, will be integrated into the company beginning next month.
--Drew Cherry
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Sunday, March 16, 11 pm EST
Reunited and it feels so good
Dennis Guhlke couldn’t be happier now that he is reunited with Pablo Baraona, owner of coho and Atlantic Chilean salmon farm Salmones Aysen S.A.
Earlier this month, Guhlke and Don Giles, both former CEOs of Icicle Seafoods, announced they had bought out Icicle’s 50 percent stake in the Chilean salmon farming company.
The deal reunites the three friends, who together formed a partnership in 2007, when Giles was CEO of Icicle.
“Don and I have a strong belief in the future of salmon globally,” Guhlke told IntraFish. “We also believe more specifically in the Chilean salmon industry and believe Chile will continue to be one of the main producers of global salmon supply.”
Guhlke and Giles now sit on the board of Salmon Aysen, which produced just shy of 20,000 tons of product last year – 60 percent of it coho and 40 percent Atlantic salmon.
The company’s main markets are Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Russia and the United States.
Salmones Aysen will continue to work with Icicle, which will provide marketing and sales services for the Chilean products through its Icicle Japan division, Gulhke said.
-- John Fiorillo
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Sunday, March 16, 5:03 pm EST
Classing up the TV dinner
Packaging company Sealed Air Cryovac has launched a new package -- perfect for a more elegant TV dinner-style look.
The packaging, which is vacuum packed right around the food on a white platter, making it look like the dish is on a plate.
"How do you get the consumer to see beyond the TV dinner mentality?" the company's Sean Brady told IntraFish. "It's about presentation as a consumer. If you walk by a frozen case and it's all black trays with a picture -- it's not so appealing. The clear packaging -- people really like it."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 4:45 pm EST
Thinking outside of the (frozen) fish box
Soumaya Chekouri-Bouzergtoun of Moroccan fresh and frozen company Bouzergtoun Seafood is a fan of trade shows -- she picked up her first US customer, European Fish Specialists out of New York City at a trade show -- who urged her to think outside of the box.
And it was a rousing success.
Before European Mediterranean Seafood, Bouzergtoun was not supplying fresh sardines, especially as far away as United States.
"I said no way," she said via a translator.
But she was soon convinced and now sells fresh sardines to the New York exporter -- "something I never thought I could do."
She now does fresh seafood to Russia, too.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 4:30pm EST
Brands know no boundaries
The Saucy Fish Co. brand, produced by Icelandic Group-owned Seachill, is now the No. 1 chilled wetfish brand in the United Kingdom, and without a doubt one of the hottest in the country. The company has grown the brand from zero to £35 million annually in the country.
But welcome to the United States, Saucy. The company is confident it can make inroads here, but the US retail landscape is much more diverse, and the US consumers much more schizophrenic in their tastes across regions.
Seachill sales and marketing director Simon Smith, who spent 10 years with ice cream maker Haagen Dazs prior to joining Seachill, has headed up the development of Saucy Fish, and concedes it won’t be easy.
“It’s going to take time,” Smith said. “But we know US consumers have the exact same concerns as UK consumers have about fish, and we know that they are looking for inspiration. Looking around this show, I can tell you that nobody is talking about consumers -- they’re talking about fish.”
The company’s research shows other trends. The US sector has fewer and fewer loose fish counters, so Saucy’s pre-packed, slick-looking products should have the same impact, Smith said.
Saucy launched in the United States one week ago in seven locations, so Smith is holding his breath to see the results.
Saucy will be unveiling some changes to its brand that Smith isn't quite ready to reveal yet, but he said it’s been carefully researched to continue to make the brand even more attractive.
Interest among retail buyers has been enormous, Smith said. Most Boston suppliers tell you that when you chat with them, but with Walmart Mexico lingering in the booth while I interviewed Smith, there may be something to his comments.
--Drew Cherry
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Sunday, March 16, 4:22 pm EST
Will Morocco be America's next top producer?
The Moroccan government is fully supporting the country's fishing and aquaculture industries, Moroccan Centre for Export Promotion's (Maroc Export) Nadia Rhaouti told IntraFish at the beautifully decorated Morocco pavilion.
Maroc Export, which hosted 12 companies this year -- more than double what they had the past two years -- is in charge of developing exports in all of Morocco's sectors, but "the main goal is to develop aquaculture" and strengthen fisheries, Rhaouti said.
Morocco is known for its cephalopods -- squid, oyster -- and shellfish, as well as anchovies and sardines.
Currently, 68 percent of Morocco's seafood exports go to The European Union, 13 to 14 percent travel to Africa, 8 percent to Asia and just 2 percent end up in the United States.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 2:43 pm EST
Farming new species
In tandem with the push to sell more fish into the United States, India is beginning to farm more finfish species, MPEDA's Ramesh Ramareddy told IntraFish.
The country's farmers are ramping up production on cobia, sea bass, crabs, he said.
"These are the things we've started farming in a big way," he said.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 2:27 pm EST
India: More than just shrimp
Thanks in part to Early Mortality Symdrome (EMS) in other parts of the world, India has slowly become the top seller of shrimp into the United States -- and now they want a larger slice of the pie.
"We sell a lot of fish to the rest of the world," Ramesh Ramareddy of India's Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) told IntraFish.
India sells $500 million worth of fish to southeast Asia and China and about $400 million to Europe, but sales of fish -- not shrimp -- are dismal in the United States.
But in the US, its mostly just shrimp customers. Ramareddy is trying to change that.
"There is a market," he said.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 2:11 pm EST
Grilling salmon in a bag? Now you can
For busy people and parents Cedar Bay is offering a brand new option for salmon you can grill in 20 minutes, in a bag.
The company is offering three flavors, tomato and herb, rosemary and thyme, and maple chipotle sauce salmon fillets in BPA-free plastic bags designed for grilling.
--Josh Stilts
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Sunday, March 16, 2:05 pm EST
Lobster claws, tails, and retail availability
East Coast Seafood and SeaTrade are launching a new series of lobster tails, claws and blanched lobster available in the United States.
While large volumes of the blanched lobsters in one pound, one and a quarter pound and one a half pound bags in France, they’ll now be available for purchase in the United States and Canada.
The company is also looking into building a new freezer facility in Massachusetts.
--Josh Stilts
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Sunday, March 16, 1:58 pm EST
Saudi Arabia the new barramundi frontier?
Darik Enterprises Inc., has been looking to get into sourcing barramundi and they say it has found it in Saudi Arabia.
A company spokesman told IntraFish the barramundi is farmed by National Prawn and a recent deal could mean a big change in the fresh and frozen market.
--Josh Stilts
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Sunday, March 16, 1:57 pm EST
New look, new products for Northern Wind
In an effort to integrate all aspects of the company while also launching a new frozen appetizer line, Northern Wind unveiled its new logo and new packaging.
George Kouri, COO of Northern Wind, said the new product line has already received great reviews from showgoers at the seafood expo, which he said should carry well into the retail markets.
The company is also sampling five new retail appetizers including crab bruschetta, shrimp potstickers, breaded bay scallops, scallops wrapped in bacon and popcorn shrimp.
--Josh Stilts
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Sunday, March 16, 1:55 pm EST
Big in Japan
Hiroshima-based Ahjikan produces household-name crabstick products in Japan, for both the foodservice and retail sector. Among their exclusive contracts is the 7-11 chain. Hiroshi Miyake, overseas sales representative for Ahjikan, estimates that the company is probably one of the top three crabstick suppliers in Japan, and dominates the Oceania and Hong Kong markets as well. But in the United States?
“Nothing,” he laughs.
With Alaska pollock as the company’s exclusive raw material, it’s known for high-end products, and that positioning has helped the company float, even with high prices.
Costs this year are around 5 percent higher, Miyake estimated, “but that’s still OK.”
That’s kept them away from using “inferior” raw material such as threadfin bream, which, with demand in Thailand and China, isn’t actually that much less in cost.
The frustrating thing is that in the United States, he said, quality is not valued in crabsticks, simply as the result of a long experience of ho-hum products.
“We’re hopeful,” Miyake said. “No other company can make our product quality.”
--Drew Cherry
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Sunday, March 16, 1:45 pm EST
Pangasius prices still not firming
Jean-Charles Diener, director of Vietnam-based seafood inspection group OFCO, said the pangasius outlook for 2014 -- at least in the short run -- is not good. With decisions on US duties looming, the next two weeks look particularly unstable.
“After that, however, I think we will see several months of stability,” he said.
Quality-wise, Diener is not optimistic.
“It’s very difficult to develop good relationships with pangasius suppliers right now,” Diener said. The low prices are incentive for unscrupulous players to take short cuts such as over-glazing.
With the numbers of producers that have exited the processing sector in Vietnam and production down so low, it would stand to reason prices would firm, Diener said, but that hasn’t happened.
“The raw material should go up,” Diener said. “But the Europe is tired of pangasius, and the US has full stocks.”
Russia, another potential importer, has blocked exports of some producers for health concerns, and other potential importers are reluctant at this stage.
From a food inspection priority, a bigger concern for Diener on the quality level is Vietnamese clams. He has seen unprecedented rejections for salmonella and other problems.
“I’m starting to get worried,” he said.
--Drew Cherry
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Sunday, March 16, 1:11 pm EST
The doctor is in with four new products
Dr. Praeger’s is at the show this year showcasing four new seafood items.
The all-natural frozen food maker based in Elmwood Park, New Jersey differentiates its products by promoting their all-natural ingredients and other healthful attributes.
Its products are found in Whole Foods, HEB, Publix, Kroger, Wegmans and many other retail chains.
The new seafood products include: gluten-free Quinoa & Herb Crusted Pollock fillets; Thai Coconut Crusted Pollock fillets; Southern Cornmeal Crusted Cod Fillets; ad Herb Crusted Cod fillets.
Business is booming, David Horvath, senior vice president of sales for the company told IntraFish. Its sales to Whole Foods have grown 26 percent this year, he said.
It has resigned a promotion deal with TV network Nickelodeon to market breaded fish products carry branding from the network’s cartoon characters Dora the Explorer and Sponge Bob.
--John Fiorillo
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Sunday, March 16, 1:30 pm
Tilapia waits on the weather
Liu Jian, general manager of vertically integrated Zhanjiang Evergreen Aquatic Product, wasn’t sunny when asked about the situation for tilapia in China.
With unpredictable weather in Southern Guandong, where a large part of Evergreen’s tilapia is produced, sales manager Alpha Ding remains uncertain what the winter season will bring, which can cause major die-offs, and put major pressure on prices.
Another pressure point is the rising price of feed, which has reached levels not seen since 2008, and “is going up every year.”
Though the domestic market is always touted as bringing a new level of pressure to tilapia availability, Ding said that hasn't come to pass -- yet.
Evergreen produces around 20,000 metric tons of tilapia across three plants, and at $750 million is one of the world’s largest seafood companies.
--Drew Cherry
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Sunday, March 16, 1:06 pm EST
Oyster farmer touts new product
Massachusetts-based Pangea Shellfish Company, a mainly oyster wholesaler that also has farms in the state, were touting their newest product at their booth.
Called Pangea Pearl, the new oyster is "like Kumomoto, sweet, buttery, briney," Marketing Specialist Connie Lu told IntraFish.
The company, which Lu said carries 50-70 varieties of oysters at any given time, have customers, mainly distributors, all over the US and Canada. The restaurants they sell to, Lu said, include Grand Central Oyster Bar.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 1 pm EST
Lobster prices to stay firm
Spencer Fuller, category manager at Cozy Harbor, told IntraFish he expects lobster prices "to continue to be firm" as the season kicks off in May. He thinks the prices will continue as they were in the winter when the season wrapped up.
"The prices we saw in 2012, you'll probably never see again," said Fuller, whose company sells packaged lobster cuts to retailers such as Hannifords, Wegmans and Safeway.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 12:24 pm EST
Doc: Seafood has advantage
Aileen Sauris, a nurse practitioner at Boston's Harvard Medical School-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital, wasn't on the seafood consumption panel, but she feels extremely passionate on the topic of seafood and health.
"It's about putting the word out," she said, adding that many of her patients avoid seafood because they aren't knowledgeable about the various species and preparations.
"You guys have clinical scientific data to support you," she said, addressing the crowd of mainly seafood sellers. "Beef doesn't have that. Poultry doesn't have that."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 12:18 pm EST
Starting from the bottom
Seafood Nutrition Partnership's Executive Director Linda Cornish had some startling facts that she shared during a seafood consumption panel at the show.
Out of 2,000 pounds of food Americans eat per year, 600 pounds is dairy. A shockingly small 14.4 pounds is seafood.
In addition, US adults manage to consume just 90 mg of the 250 mg of omega-3s recommended daily; kids, however, consume a paltry 40 mg. Starting to educate children about seafood, therefore, is key, she said.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 12:07 pm EST
Customers enjoy a good story
When David Blessing began at Longwood Lifestyle and Events, he was no stranger to seafood; he'd been the executive chef at Four Seasons and worked at Whole Foods, as well. But he quickly learned he had to change his approach to promote seafood at Longwood, which has venues, which it caters, throughout New England.
"The menus really didn't have a lot of seafood on it," Blessing said. "There's a story behind each item I put on the menu."
He trained his staff to learn the story behind each species on the menu -- and he sees customers responding. They also respond to Blessing's commitment to keeping items seasonal.
"I could get them in the middle of December, but that's not the right thing to do," he said. "Maintaining the integrity of the product really resonates ... with our clients. They appreciate it."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 12 pm EST
Commit to sell more fish
Bob Hartman, director of seafood for New England grocery chain Market Basket, said his company is more successful than most at moving seafood -- and he said a deep commitment for seafood is the reason.
"We noticed the [supermarket] industry was going away from seafood," Hartman said during a consumption panel.
So the company doubled the seafood departments in its stores, which are located throughout Massachusetts and other parts of New England. They increased its frozen display cases by a few feet each and made a 15,000 square-foot distribution center with a lab inside.
"We made a deep commitment," he said.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 11:34 am EST
CleanFish sees bright future for Baja hiramasa
Sustainable seafood distributor CleanFish is expecting growing sales from the new Baja hiramasa (yellowtail) being developed by Catalina Offshore Products and Mexico-based Baja Seas
Baja farmed yellowtail (Seriola Lalandi), comes from the same genius as the popular Hawaiian kampachi (Seriola rivoliana) and is a slightly less fatty alternative to Japanese hamachi (Seriola quniueradita). The original stock was bred for Baja Seas from fingerlings produced at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute.
Currently the farm is able to produce between 1,000 and 2,000 pounds per week but has the ability to expand.
In addition to the new production coming out of Baja, Cleanfish is also hoping to source product someday soon from a group growing hiramasa in Maine. It could be another year or so before product is ready, but Dale Sims of CleanFish is optimistic.
CleanFish has helped boost the market penetration of many smaller, environmentally friendly farmed and wild seafood producers. It's best known for helping high-end Scottish salmon producer Loch Duart expand its business in North America.
In 2004, when Cleanfish first began distributing Loch Duart fish, it brought in just seven boxes of product. Today, Cleanfish sells close to two million pounds a year in North America.
-- John Fiorillo
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Sunday, March 16, 11:21 am EST
Riding a high
Canadian seafood giant High Liner Foods was named food donation group SeaShare’s supplier of the year, according to Jim Harmon, SeaShare executive director.
“They really did an incredible job with product, processing and dollars,” Harmon said.
--Drew Cherry
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Sunday, March 16, 11:17 am EST
Sanford CEO speaks out for the first time
New Sanford CEO Volker Kuntzsch, who departed from Nissui USA last December to take up his role at the publicly-listed New Zealand company in December, has been settling into his role, and hasn’t been ready to speak to the press: until now.
Compared with Nissui USA, Kuntzsch told IntraFish, the group is much more diverse, with everything from salmon and mussel farming to hoki and tuna fishing.
The board’s goal in bringing Kuntzsch in is to help those silos work more closely together, and help give a clear mandate to a very large company.
“They expect me to give the company a new direction, and they are adamant that we need to take products more toward value-added rather than commodity,” he said.
Kuntzsch said the move to the country hasn’t been a jarring shift from Georgia, where he was living before while he was with Nissui USA.
“I have a place in my heart for New Zealand,” Kuntzsch said. “When I was with Unilever, I made lots of trips down to convinced them to be one of the first to join the MSC program with its hoki.”
Kuntzsch did help convince them, and now sustainability is not much of discussion at Sanford – “it’s just done.”
Sanford is leading the Deepwater Group toward making every major species MSC-certified.
--Drew Cherry
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Sunday, March 16, 11:08 am EST
Relationships are the key
Last year was tough one for Vita Foods, America’s largest smoked salmon brand, CEO Cliff Bolen told IntraFish. To make it through with the kind of cost pressure the company faced for both its Atlantic and sockeye salmon, the company had to rely on solid, long-term supplier relationships.
One example: Barry Group.
“They’re a 116-year-old company, and we’ve been sourcing from them from the beginning,” Bolen said.
Buyers have been understanding about the supply situation, even companies that tend to have demanding price points, such as Wal-Mart Superstores.
“They get it,” Bolen said.
New products are in the pipeline, which will have “significant play in the marketplace,” but Bolen wasn't quite ready to disclose what they are.
Vita Foods’ branded products are nationwide, but the company produces for other companies as well. Most notably, the company produces all of Ocean Beauty’s Lassco-brand herring products. As for producing smoked salmon products for the company, that’s not going to change, Bolen said, “for now.”
--Drew Cherry
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Sunday, March 16, 10:50 am EST
AquaCuisine's new Sammies
AquaCuisine was touting its new Sammies in a Blanket products at the show -- and President Mark Goforth said products like the smoked Alaskan salmon franks in a puff pastry shell will change the industry.
"Whether it's us or not, these are the game-changers in the seafood industry," Goforth told IntraFish.
The sammies, which can be baked in 18-20 minutes, are "entering seafood in the pigs in a blanket category," he added.
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 10:42 am EST
Mazzetta's fish oil hits US retailers
Norwegian salmon oil is now available in the United States from Mazzettas.
Using cold extraction technology in conjunction with Hofseth Bio Care, the two companies are able to create the highest, purest form of salmon oil, Zach Mazzetta said.
"Each pill is the equivalent of two, six ounce portions," he said.
-- Josh Stilts
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Sunday, March 16, 10:39 am EST
US shrimp demand remains high
As solutions are found to battle Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) Cox's Wholesale Seafood Inc., is confident the demand for US wild shrimp will continue to be high.
A spokesperson told IntraFish, "more and more people are sourcing domestically and there's still a strong demand."
-- Josh Stilts
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Sunday, March 16, 10:35 am EST
Louisiana seafood takes new approach
In the past, the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board (LSPMB) has focused on more birds-eye level tactics, such as "putting an ad in Bon Appetit magazine," said new Executive Director Karen Profita. But Profita is taking a new approach.
The board is trying to capitalize on the fact that many out-of-towners flock to Louisiana, propelled by the prospect of delicious seafood.
"Instead of educating a brand-new consumer to like seafood," she told IntraFish, "let's work with what we already have. We know people love it, now how do we get people [to Louisiana]."
--Avani Nadkarni
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Sunday, March 16, 10:30 am EST
Captain D's revs up the promotions
Janet Duckham, vice president of purchasing at Captain D’s, stopped by the IntraFish booth to talk about the continuing success of the national seafood chain.
The restaurant is in the midst of its Lenten time promo and is featuring three meal options nationally, each for $4.99.
The chain is using pangasius in its new Southern Style Tenders. Its fish and 8-piece butterfly shrimp dinner uses pollock that is hand-battered in store. And for its 2-piece hand-breaded flounder, the chain is using yellowfin sole from Alaska.
The Lenten promotion ends April 28 and the chain's next promotion for Panko breaded Cajun fish tenders begins the next day.
The restaurant continues to menu its Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute branded wild salmon, supplied by Trident Seafoods and its US-raised catfish supplied by Harvest Select.
-- John Fiorillo
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Sunday, March 16, 10:05 am EST
Stavis Seafood expands sourcing
Buyers, sellers, importers and exporters at Stavis Seafood have been busy since the last Seafood Expo North America growing its list of countries from 35 to 48, including Sri Lanka, Egypt and a potentially new contract with the Faroes Island.
-- Josh Stilts
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Saturday, March 16, 6:35 pm EST
Dick Gutting honored
Attendees at the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) annual chowder Party on Saturday night donated more than $1,100 for the Richard Gutting Memorial Fund.
In honor of Dick and to celebrate his love of the bow ties for which he was famous, the Chowder Party attendees wore bow ties of a wide range of colors and sizes.
Education was paramount to Dick. In his many roles over his 45-year career – as an attorney, president of NFI and NOAA general counsel for fisheries -- he was a staunch advocate for the hardworking men and women who put healthy, delicious seafood on America’s plates.
-- John Fiorillo
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Saturday, March 15, 6:30 pm EST
New product explosion
Seafood companies have finally owned up to their ridiculous lack of brands, and the run-up to this Boston has seen more press releases and new brand announcements than I can ever recall.
What's more, the products are actually interesting, innovative, and new.
Among the announcements are new products and lines from: High Liner, Clearwater, Trident, Marine Harvest, Acme Smoked Fish and True North Salmon. And that's just some of the biggies. We've got stories on the new lines on our pages.
--Drew Cherry
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Saturday, Mach 15, 1:00 pm EST
Mild for now
Saturday afternoon and the weather is balmy, with temperatures in the 50s and plenty of sunshine. Looks like showgoers will avoid a big snow storm this year, but temperatures will drop by about 20 degrees by Sunday.
--John Fiorillo
