SeaFood Business is the global trusted authority for seafood buyers and sellers. We are the seafood industry's leading trade magazine with more than 30 years of experience. Our coverage is based on the "business" of buying and selling seafood.
Issue link: https://seafoodbusiness.epubxp.com/i/233790
Top Story barrier to purchase." Gibson is skeptical that the foodservice-to-retail seafood-consumption pendulum will swing at all without serious educational eforts and increased attention to value-added or prepared seafood products. Retail, which accounts for only one-third of all U.S. seafood purchases in dollars, might never close the gap with foodservice, Gibson says. "You just don't see the commitment. Seafood accounts for only 1 to 2 percent of average grocery store sales. Tey're not going to commit the resources they need, because they won't get the immediate return. It's a low margin proft base to begin with." Check, please Seafood isn't losing out to the other proteins because of perception of value, one restaurant industry expert believes, but he notices that it's featured in promotions far less often and that a lack of excitement driven by new products for on-the-go consumers is holding the industry back. Warren Solocheck, VPfoodservice of global market research frm NPD Group in Chicago, says seafood needs to consider its market positioning carefully, and opt for the high end or the low end. He likes what Nashville, Tenn., QSR chain Captain D's has done with its menu, going with a smart assortment of low-cost options paired with generous sides, prepared quickly. "If you give the average consumer the opportunity to get a burger or a chicken sandwich vs. a fried fsh sandwich, the fsh will always be No. 3," says Solocheck. "Why? Well, how is it served? What are the condiments? Burgers are so versatile. For millennials, who love to customize and be adventurous, there's more opportunity than the same old fsh sandwich with tartar sauce. "Te biggest issue holding seafood back is A, it has limited distribution as to how it's menued; and B, what has the restaurant industry done to put some excitement behind it? I can't remember Burgerland Billions of restaurant servings by meal category, 52 weeks ending September 2013 $10 8.7 7.4 $6 5.1 4.9 3.2 $4 2.2 2 $2 sa la d Pa st a d oo af M ai n di sh Se M ex ic an zz a Pi try ul Po Bu rg e rs $0 22 SeaFood Business January 2014 Source: NPD/CREST $8 very much and I watch the industry pretty closely." Te United States is a hamburger haven. Even with beef retail prices up 80 percent since 2000, according to beef industry analyst Duane Lenz, general manager of CattleFax in Centennial, Colo., Americans simply won't be rebufed when it comes to getting their burger on. "We've been treated very well by consumers. Tere's been record spending on the beef side, $85 billion last year," says Lenz. Consumers have accepted higher prices, he says, and U.S. per-capita beef consumption was a healthy 57.5 pounds in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (pork was 45.1 pounds and poultry was 83.3 pounds). Feed yards and meat packers are struggling to turn a proft, however, as Lenz notes that the U.S. beef industry infrastructure is designed for 10 million more cattle than is currently available. "Suppliers are shrinking in numbers, that's the big story," says Lenz. "[Ranchers] lost a lot of cattle due to drought and supplies are limited." What lessons can the seafood industry draw from land-based proteins? Lenz says he always gets asked that question, and his answer is "consistency." "Consumers also want something they're comfortable cooking. At our house we love seafood but we're uncomfortable with it because we don't know [to cook it]," he says. Does the beef industry even really consider seafood as part of the competition? Not really, says Lenz. "Beef guys are more concerned with what the chicken guys are doing. Tat kind of quick growth is what keeps the cowboys up at night." Health assurance Restlessness is something the seafood industry can relate to. A surge in consumer interest in seafood, says National Fisheries Institute President John Connelly, could potentially come from an industry ally — insurance companies. Connelly cites the federal government and the American Heart Association that estimated each cardiac arrest and stroke incident costs a health insurance company about $208,000. And Harvard Medical School researchers estimate that 84,000 such deaths are preventable if consumers got the full benefts of omega-3 fatty acids found in many types of seafood. "So, insurers and others interested in public health could save up to $17 billion if Americans ate more seafood," says Connelly. "Tat is a wallop of a return on their investment by getting behind something like the Seafood Nutrition Partnership," an organization dedicated to increasing seafood consumption in the United States. While catchy slogans have worked wonders for beef ("It's what's for dinner") and pork ("Te other white meat"), a nationwide movement for seafood could look more like a public service campaign, he adds. "It's like a buckle-up your children campaign, or the eforts to reduce drunk driving," says Connelly. "Te U.S. government is saying seafood is essential, the World Health Organization says it's essential and leading researchers and nutritionists are saying it." Until consumers hear it, and put a premium on ftness over frugality, seafood will remain the fourth-place protein in a crowded ring. Email Senior Editor James Wright at jwright@divcom.com Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com