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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To p Story 50 SeaFood Business April 2014 Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com natural, sustainable, premium and high-quality foods. To appeal to millennials and educate all customers about the origin and sus- tainability of its seafood, LJS launched a Tink Fish multimedia ad campaign in February that seeks to cut into beef and poultry sales. "Te campaign centers around educating consum- ers about the benefts of eat- ing more fsh, the origins of fsh … and lets them know that our fsh are all from cer- tifed sustainable fsheries," St. Clair says. "A few years ago, this wasn't important to many in our customer base. Today, millennials and Generation X are curious and even concerned about these issues." Because of millennials' dependence upon technol- ogy to gather information, successful seafood suppliers, restaurants and retailers are educating this demographic via social media. "We built a following at farmers markets, and found that social media is popular among customers 25 to 45 years old," says Ryan Speck- man, a partner in Locals Seafood, a retail and whole- sale seafood operation in Raleigh, N.C. (See What's in Store, page 36.) But how do seafood mar- keters reach this tech-savvy, wants-everything-now de- mographic group? Keep messages authentic and per- sonal, Frey suggests. "When interacting with companies via social media, they value authenticity — they want to feel like they have a personal, direct in- teraction with the brand — and in return, they'll advo- cate and endorse that brand. Millenials want to feel good about what they buy." Contributing Editor Christine Blank lives in Lake Mary, Fla. as a baked cod meal on its 600 Calories and Under menu. In addition, the chain is developing lighter salads, sandwiches and soups for this summer. Likewise, leading super- market chains and fsh markets are ofering more prepared seafood items that have unique favors and, in some cases, that are portable. For example, Robert's Sea- food Market in Springfeld, Ill., ofers around 10 diferent prepared seafood items daily including crab cheese balls, smoked teriyaki salmon, crab-stufed mushrooms and seafood soups and chowders. To complement its sea- food grab-and-go options, Robert's also recently added organic grains, rice and gluten-free products. "Anything that is more health conscious is what our customers were asking for," says General Manager Brian Aiello. Robert Clark, former ex- ecutive chef with C Restau- rant in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a sustainable seafood advocate, also sees no end to the value-added meals trend. As a result, Clark built a professional kitchen in his Vancouver-based seafood market, Te Fish Counter, which opened last Novem- ber allowing home chefs to prepare unique, healthful seafood meals to go. Approximately 10 or so daily prepared seafood items at the store include Niçoise salad (traditionally made with tomatoes, green beans, eggs and olives) with or without tuna, smoked salm- on and seafood soups. In a takeout section of the store, Te Fish Counter ofers "fast food" with a healthy twist, such as fsh tacos. Education is paramount One of the best ways to encourage millennials to purchase more seafood at stores and restaurants is educating them about the health benefts afliated with seafood consumption and how to prepare it, ex- perts agree. Seafood depart- ment staf must be properly trained to talk with boom- ers and millennials about the health benefts as well as how it's sourced and pre- pared, Frey says. "Te seafood industry needs to focus on getting more consumers to the case to try seafood, getting sea- food consumers to buy more frequently and getting more seafood in their baskets each time they are at the case. Tis can be done by simply educating the consumer on the product, especially prep- aration recommendations," Frey says. Retailers don't necessar- ily need to provide seafood recipes. "Often, it's enough to showcase cooking method (broiling, grilling, etc.) to in- spire consumers," Frey says. Notably, millennials also seek information on where their seafood was sourced and how it was farmed or harvested. Even though they are value-conscious, they are big buyers of organic, Photo by Laura Lee Dobson "Restaurants need to make seafood more appealing. Millennials are very much a grab-and-go group." — Warren Solocheck, VP of client services/development, NPD Continued from page 28 24_28TopStory_50jump.indd 50 3/25/14 2:29 PM