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ALASKA SEAFOOD MONTHLY UPDATE | April 2019
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A note from the executive director:
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We hope this month’s update finds you and your loved ones safe and well. During these uncertain and unprecedented times, I want to first acknowledge the difficult times many of us are facing as individuals, and together as a community, nation, and global industry.
As always, ASMI has been working to support our partners across the world and keep Alaska’s wild, nutritious and sustainable seafood in home pantries, freezers and on dinner plates. As more consumers are cooking from home, we are meeting them with bolstered recipe development, impactful chef and blogger partnerships, and timely campaigns such as the relaunch of
Cook it Frozen!®. During the coming months, we will continue to share the ways that our marketing efforts are adapting to the changing landscape while fulfilling our core mission to raise the value of Alaska’s seafood. There has never been a more important time to #AskForAlaska.
Stay well,
Jeremy Woodrow
Executive Director
ALASKA SEAFOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE
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Information for Alaska’s Seafood Industry on COVID-19
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The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is here to support our industry i
n the uncertain and ever-changing Coronavirus (COVID-19) landscape.
ASMI
assembled a
webpage
with resources from public health and industry experts regarding food safety and Alaska seafood to use as a basis for communication with external stakeholders.
ASMI continues to monitor the situation and will update the site with additional information and resources as available.
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ASMI Joins “Eat Seafood, America!” Campaign to Support U.S. Seafood Supply Chain
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April 7 marked the launch of the
Eat Seafood, America!
consumer-facing campaign led by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) to “help Americans stay healthy and help boost the U.S. seafood economy affected by the COVID-19 public health crisis.”
ASMI signed on to amplify the 12-week pre-competitive campaign as a participating member of the new Seafood4Health Action Coalition organized by SNP. Other organizations and individuals interested in joining the #EatSeafoodAmerica campaign can learn more at
eatseafoodamerica.com
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ASMI Taps Strong Media Relationships for National Cooking
at Home Coverage
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While more Americans are cooking at home, the ASMI Consumer PR program is tapping into strong relationships with culinary and lifestyle media to build an affinity for and national coverage of Alaska seafood. From sending frozen and shelf-stable product to food reporters and social influencers for at-home recipe development to pitching national publications, ASMI’s efforts are earning social and traditional media endorsements for a variety of Alaska species by
Martha Stewart,
acclaimed Registered Dieticians,
New York Times food editors and more.
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ABC News - Apr. 6, 2020
As part of ASMI's health and culinary influencer program, celebrity chef Cat Cora featured
wild Alaska salmon during
an ABC News segment showcasing a recipe for protein bowls made primarily with shelf-stable or frozen ingredients. Cat shared that one of her favorite toppings is wild Alaska salmon, explaining that it is frozen directly on the boat, which “holds in the nutrients [and] locks in the flavor.”
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MindBodyGreen - Apr. 9, 2020
Real Simple - Apr. 8, 2020
Lively Table - Mar. 30, 2020
The Mom 100 - March 15, 2020
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All in-person ASMI events have been tentatively cancelled or postponed until further notice. ASMI committee and board meetings will take place via teleconference.
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New Fact Sheets: Golden King Crab and Atka Mackerel
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ASMI produced two new technical fact sheets on wild Alaska Atka mackerel and golden king crab.
The sheets are part of a series covering multiple species and products, meant to highlight the nutrition, sustainability, harvest procedures, utilization, biology, and culinary features of wild Alaska seafood.
The golden king crab fact sheet is available
here.
The Atka mackerel fact sheet is available
here.
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New Easy Cook-at-Home and Global Recipes
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ASMI Creates Shareable Alaska Seafood Zoom Backgrounds
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ASMI created a series of 10 inspiring Alaska seafood images formatted for easy use as virtual backgrounds for videoconferencing. View and download them
here
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Need additional recipes, photos,
videos or other materials?
You can also check out the latest photos and videos added to our media library:
New on NetX &
Current Favorites
Don't see what you are looking for?
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Partnerships and Promotions
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Whole Foods Pushes Wild Alaska Pollock In-Store
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Wild Alaska pollock was featured in 41 in-store cooking demos at Whole Foods Northern California and Rocky Mountain regions during December 2019. Fish tacos were sampled and consumers all raved about the flavor.
The promotion resulted in a total sales lift of 851%, with the highest lift shown in the Rocky Mountain region at 1288%.
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Reinhart Foodservice Features Alaska Seafood in Restaurant Inc. Magazine
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Chicago based foodservice distributor Reinhart Foodservice interviewed Chef Laura Cole of
229 Parks and
Muse for the spring issue of their quarterly trade publication, Restaurant Inc., focused on sustainability. The advertorial feature titled "Alaska Seafood is Chef's Bounty" details Chef Cole's love for Alaska seafood and how she uses different species seasonally in her restaurants.
The piece also touches on the sustainability of Alaska seafood as well as its versatility. Restaurant Inc. reaches thousands of foodservice operators across the Midwest region of the United States.
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Fall and Winter Promotions at Spartan Nash
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Throughout the month of October 2019,
Spartan Nash promoted Alaska sockeye salmon, cod and Alaska pollock with digital ad inserts, email blasts, social media posts and in-store POS at 90 stores in the upper Midwest. Fresh seafood sales were unfortunately down 3.9% due to more expensive raw material and higher retail prices on sockeye.
In January,
Spartan Nash again featured Alaska sockeye salmon, cod and pollock with a digital ad insert, email blast, social media posts and in-store POS, with the addition of an in-store recipe featuring Alaska salmon and radio ads promoting the limited time offers.
Products unfortunately performed below the fresh seafood category year over year at 23.3% sales, with Alaska seafood sales down by 26%. There were however two notable spikes in sales during the campaign coinciding with each of the offers: BOGO (buy-one-get-one-free) salmon fillets and $9.99 salmon fillets.
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ASMI Southern Europe Donates Alaska Salmon and Cod During Covid-19 Crisis
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ASMI has partnered with top restaurants and groups of chefs that are mobilizing to serve the critical need for healthy meals at hospitals and for families in need.
- Sergio Fernandez is a chef at Canal Cocina (a cooking network in Spain) and one of the main chefs at Gastonomia Solidaria (food NGO in Madrid). He will be working to prepare 1000 meals for soup kitchens and families in need. Sergio will also share simple Alaska cod recipes for people to prepare at home via a live session from his Instagram account and by sharing his pictures with Canal Cocina.
- Comida Contigo Association is a Barcelona-based association with two central kitchens set up to send over 600 meals to foundations and charities for families in need. They are also providing meals for the medical research teams Hospital Clinic Barcelona who are working around the clock researching on cures for COVID-19 and coordinated crisis management.
- World Central Kitchen Spain has five kitchens in Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia.
- Cristina Oria Catering is providing for the staff and patients at the military hospital in Madrid.
- FoodForGood Association is set up to provide over 1,000 meals daily to different foundations, associations, community centers, and soup kitchens in Catalonia’s capital.
- Food4Heros is an initiative that has brought over 30 restaurants together from Barcelona and Madrid to prepare and distribute meals by volunteers to different hospitals for their staff.
- Healthy Warriers is another initiative put together by restaurants in Barcelona to provide for hospital staff.
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ASMI Japan Creates Alaska Seafood GIFs
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ASMI Japan teamed up with the Japanese artist Segawa Thirty-Seven to create
two Alaska salmon GIFs. The first depicts salmon jumping in a stream against a uniquely Alaska backdrop, complete with bears and shimmering northern lights. The second
shows a man enjoying an Alaska salmon feast
, highlighting the full utilization of Alaska salmon in different product forms. These new assets are perfect for social media and are a fun way to introduce online audiences around the world to Alaska seafood’s wild, natural and sustainable attributes.
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ASMI Japan Creates Four New Alaska Roe Recipes
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ASMI Japan created four new recipes showcasing Alaska roe products in non-traditional ways. The recipes are chirashi “scattered” sushi with salmon roe, chopped salad with salmon roe, herring roe spaghetti and mentaiko croquettes. Each recipe is simple to make and has broad appeal.
They will be featured on the ASMI Japan consumer website and social media accounts. Additionally, the recipes were shared with the other international programs as well as ASMI domestic to be used in their promotions. The recipes are part of an ongoing effort to introduce new consumers to Alaska roe and expand the market.
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ASMI South America Adopts New Social Media Strategy
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ASMI South America has adopted a new strategy for social media in Brazil. Currently, the program manages two pages totaling over 1.2 million fans (Facebook:
www.facebook.com/peixesdoalasca, Instagram:
@peixesdoalascabrasil). The new strategy is based on exploring Alaska seafood’s health and nutritional benefits in order to tap into the existing $2 billion health and wellness market in the country.
The new approach incorporates slightly fewer posts, but increased effectiveness with a brand-new visual identity, content/language, and target demographics. After one quarter of implementation, the interaction (increased engagement with likes, comments, reposts/shares) growth is significant with content reaching an increased number of new fans and an overall larger reach.
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New Wild Alaska Salmon Recipes Developed for Romanian Market
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ASMI worked alongside Ovidiu Tarbuc, the 2019 culinary retreat participant, to develop four new recipes featuring wild Alaska salmon. The recipes adapted for the Romanian market include:
- Winter Soup with Wild Alaska Salmon, Ginger, Garlic and Pepper
- Quiche with Wild Alaska Salmon and Spinach
- Warm Salad with Wild Alaska Salmon, Sweet Potato
- Baked Wild Salmon with Kale Cabbage
Alaska salmon is well represented in the Romanian market and can be found under various brands including Alfredo Seafood, Ocean Fish, and Macromex among others.
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ASMI SEU Holds Masterclass
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ASMI Spain held a masterclass March 9 for 28 students to explain what Alaska seafood is, the importance of wild fish consumption, the difference between farmed & wild fish, and the different types of Alaska salmon and white fish sold in Spain. They also taught product preparation of some dishes to taste.
The menu included Alaska sockeye, smoked sockeye, coho salmon and Alaska cod with recipes such as blinis with Alaska smoked salmon and kefir foam, oven-baked tandoori Alaska sockeye salmon with mango jelly, Alaska coho salmon ceviche with sweet potato, Alaska coho salmon tataki with sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil, Alaska cod confit with wild mushrooms, and Alaska cod esqueixada, an Alaska seafood take on a popular Catalan dish.
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ASMI Promotes Wild Alaska Cod and Salmon at Gustoko
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ASMI partnered with Bilbao-based regional distributor Gutierrez Angula at this year’s edition of the Basque regional foods trade show, Gustoko, March 6-8 in Bilbao, Spain. The show attracted local retailers and restaurateurs as well as the general public. The booth featured chef Angel Rubio with his vertical grill and product tasting area alongside a display of various Alaska seafood products and seafood related sauces and preserves. Although restaurant sales have dropped due to coronavirus, the demand from retail customers for Alaska cod and salmon is stronger than ever.
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ASMI China Conducts Online Retail Promotions During March and April
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ASMI China held online retail promotions in March and April with the ecommerce platforms SF Best and PinDuoduo. The promotion with SF Best took place March 6-20 and featured an Alaska seafood banner on the website that highlighted Alaska pollock, cod, sablefish, yellowfin sole, and sea cucumber.
The banner also mentioned Alaska seafood’s excellent flavor, suitability to Chinese cuisine, and sustainability credentials. On PinDuoduo, which recently surpassed JD.com as the second largest e-commerce platform in China, ASMI promoted Alaska sablefish, thorny head sole and yellowfin sole through ads that directed consumers to two retailers which have stores on the platform. That promotion ran March 13 through April 12.
Both of these promotions were held to raise visibility and drive sales of Alaska seafood.
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