The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative is hoping to bring Maine lobster to the menus of some 2,200 restaurants both in and out of state by way of a new promotional push.
The targets for the marketing effort are 2,000-plus restaurants between Maine and Delaware, only 4 percent of which currently list Maine lobster on their menus; just 20 percent of the restaurants report having any kind of lobster on their menus at all. The collaborative will meet with chefs and sponsor events that will bring some restaurant executives to the Pine Tree State to learn more about the intricacies and value of featuring Maine lobster on the menu.
There is an “enormous opportunity” here to increase sales, especially now that shedder season has arrived, said the collaborative’s executive director Matt Jacobson to News Center Channel 6.
The collaborative will promote new shell lobsters as part of the marketing initiative, as their sweetness and tenderness is oft-commented on and celebrated by fishermen, restaurant chefs and marketers alike, noted the station.
Success of the promotional push will be gauged by how many of the 2,200 restaurants incorporate Maine lobster on their menus in the months to come. Already, the collaborative has reported success with New York chefs and restaurateurs.
The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative was put together by the industry and the state, and is funded through increased license fees for fishers.
