Puerto Montt, Chile-based vertically integrated aquaculture firm Caleta Bay has launched a new brand and marketing campaign targeting the North American market.
“The campaign is built around capturing the attention of chefs and foodservice operators across the U.S. and Canada and starting a conversation with them. In this first stage, the focus is on awareness and trial, supported by strong visual assets and a clear, disruptive message that reflects the raw reality of professional kitchens,” Caleta Bay Marketing Director Juan Ignacio Pinto told SeafoodSource. “The objective is to establish relevance and resonance within the foodservice world, creating the foundation for deeper field activation and direct engagement in the next stage. From a commercial perspective, the goal is to invite foodservice companies to taste our product and use it for their own purposes. We are confident it will be a success; the product quality speaks for itself.”
While the company did not disclose the exact amount it is spending on the campaign, Pinto said it is “one of the most important marketing and commercial investments the company has made in North America to date.” The “significant, multi-level investment” will cover brand development, content creation, and commercial support via targeted brand communication, digital and trade media presence, visual assets, and trial-oriented initiatives designed to introduce the brand and the product to foodservice operators
The “Authentically raw, for real life cooks” campaign for the U.S. and Canada looks to shift focus away from Caleta Bay’s product itself and more toward the chefs who will prepare Caleta Bay’s premium steelhead trout, aiming to persuade cooks to see the fish as a reliable ingredient and a versatile product they can continuously depend on.
According to Caleta Bay, its fish is perfect for all types of restaurants – from sushi counters and fine dining to casual white table service and chain operations.
The campaign is being activated through Caleta Bay’s commercial and marketing teams in close coordination with fellow seafood firm Nutrisco, according to Caleta Bay Chief Commercial Officer Juan Carlos Garcés. Caleta Bay signed a strategic alliance with Nutrisco last year to jointly address the North American market through the latter’s commercial office located in Miami, Florida. Nutrisco is Caleta Bay’s exclusive distributor in North America.
“Nutrisco is a key strategic partner in executing this campaign. Beyond distribution, Nutrisco supports local market execution, messaging alignment, and commercial coordination, helping ensure the campaign reaches the right foodservice audiences across the U.S. and Canada,” Garcés said. “[The campaign] strengthens our partnership with Nutrisco, always with a view to the long term. The initial partnership and the placement of sales representatives were about building structure, presence, and operational capability. This campaign is the next step: It amplifies the message directly into the foodservice world and speaks to chefs and operators in their own language. It moves from establishing the platform to actively shaping how the brand shows up in their daily reality.”
Success will be measured through a five-pronged lens, according to Pinto: increased brand recognition, engagement from foodservice operators, inbound interest, trial requests, and product sales.
“This is intended as a long-term strategic reposition,” he noted. “It defines how Caleta Bay wants to be seen and how it wants to build relationships with the foodservice world in North America over time.”
Best Aquaculture Practices-certified Caleta Bay farms sushi-grade steelhead trout and operates its own hatcheries, farming centers, processing facilities, and sales operations, which allows it to fully trace and control its supply chain. An in-house genetic program also allows all of Caleta's trout to come from a proprietary genetic background produced through a decade of research and development.
Last year, Caleta Bay joined the National Fisheries Institute's (NFI) Sushi Council – a precompetitive organization which supports the U.S. sushi sector – in another push to penetrate the U.S. market.
“After 30 years of selling our products in Japan for sushi restaurants, retailers, and distributors, we think it is time to target the U.S.,” Garcés said at the time.
