SeaFood Business

APR 2014

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.

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26 SeaFood Business April 2014 Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com To p Story on fresh seafood than other generational groups. Te boomer generation made 218 per-capita restau- rant visits in 2012, versus 199 restaurant visits for mil- lennials, according to the NPD Group's National Eat- ing Trends study. "Seafood tends to skew older; possibly it is as an ac- quired taste that consumers discover in their 20s and 30s and then it becomes more of a frequent eating occasion," says Charles St. Clair, chief marketing ofcer for Long John Silver's, the largest U.S. QSR seafood restau- rant chain, based in Lou- isville, Ky. Baby boomers are a very important seg- ment of LJS customer base, representing 40 percent of its customers and account- ing for around 50 percent of its core users, those who eat in, carry out or order drive through at its restaurants at least twice a month. Mil- lennials, on the other hand, comprise 30 percent of the restaurant chain's customer base, but only account for 20 percent of its core users. Millennials and boomers are pretty evenly matched when it comes to buying fresh seafood at supermar- kets. Seventy-four percent of millennial households shop in fresh seafood depart- ments, compared to 73 per- cent of baby boomer house- holds and 70 percent of all other generational groups, according to Nielsen's Fresh- Facts Shopper Insights. Millennials spend on av- erage $12.06 per shopping trip on fresh seafood, while boomers spend $11.86 per trip, according to Nielsen. Te average shopper spends on average $11.68 per trip on fresh seafood. Because millennials are purchasing few meals away from home, the meals that retailers provide must be healthful, convenient and feature exciting and ethnic favors, experts say. In 2007, millennials enjoyed around 22 percent of their meals away from home, compared to 18 percent in 2012, ac- cording to NPD. "Millennials are eating more at home. It is cheap- er, they are trying to eat healthier and they want portion control," said War- ren Solocheck, VP of client services/development for NPD. Solocheck presented the data to attendees at the National Fisheries Insti- tute's Global Seafood Mar- ket Conference in Miami in January. Conversely, boomers pur- chased a similar number of meals — 17 percent — away from home in 2012 com- pared to 2007. However, boomers are more inclined to eat seafood at restaurants; a signifcant portion of this older demographic ordered seafood dishes at restaurants over the past year, 64 per- cent compared to 39 percent of millennials. Forty percent of boomers and 40 percent of millenni- als who did not order seafood said they just "have no taste for it," according to NPD. Almost 30 percent of boom- ers and 25 percent of millen- nials also said they did not order seafood because it is "too expensive." Notably — since millennials are driven by new, exciting and inter- esting products — 16 per- cent of millennials did not order seafood because there was "nothing appealing" on the menu. "Restaurants need to make seafood more appeal- ing. Millennials are very much a grab-and-go group. Te traditional center-of- the-plate fsh, served in a casual-dining environment, is not terribly appealing to them," Solocheck said. Convenience, preparation skills a challenge Millennials' preference for convenient, quick and healthful foods opens the door for grocery stores and Millennials have accounted for the largest decline within the industry, while boomers are dining out more often Annual per-capita restaurant visits, by age Incidence of ordering seafood is highest among boomers Past 12 month protein consumption 100 150 200 250 Age 65+ Boomers Age 35-49 Millennials Under 18 2012 2007 Boomers Gen X Millennials Pork 39% Seafood 65% Poultry 63% Beef 72% 28% 50% 57% 65% 22% 39% 46% 53% FOODSERVICE Photo by Laura Lee Dobson "Compared to total shoppers, both boomers and millennials are more engaged with the seafood department, with higher household penetration, more trips and a larger spend per trip." — Sherry Frey, executive VP, Nielsen Perishables Group Source: The NPD Group 24_28TopStory_50jump.indd 26 3/25/14 2:27 PM

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