Back in March at the 2025 Seafood Expo North America (SENA) in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., the Global Shrimp Council officially launched a new worldwide campaign promoting shrimp. The Happy Protein campaign highlights the nutritional value of shrimp as well as people’s positive associations with the shellfish.
Miguel Barcenas, who the Global Shrimp Council brought on as a strategy and marketing consultant to develop the campaign, sat down with SeafoodSource at SENA to discuss all things Happy Protein.
SeafoodSource: Why should people be eating more shrimp?
Barcenas: Shrimp is a great source of protein. In conjunction with the Global Shrimp Forum, we just conducted research that shows that shrimp is full of positive associations. People love it. People go to restaurants and enjoy it. When they go to the beach, they enjoy it. From time to time, they cook it at home, but we would like to think of shrimp as a protein that is another social protein that can go on top of beef and poultry.
We want people to feel good more often by eating shrimp more often.
SeafoodSource: Why does shrimp need a global campaign? Why does it need international collaboration?
Barcenas: We are the Global Shrimp Council, and we are comprised of independent importers, exporters, producers, and industry suppliers from around the globe. We have some of the top names in the industry and over fifty-something members right now. They produce for the local market, export to global markets. So the idea is, why should we limit [the campaign] to one market? Our goal is to go to at least four markets 16 in the next two years, obviously starting with the U.S. and probably moving from there to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. Why? Because the sensation we have is that everybody loves shrimp, but they are not eating as often as they should and could. That’s why we’re trying to tell them of the sweet spot between the functional benefits and emotional benefits of eating shrimp. It’s full of proteins, it’s low in cholesterol, it’s a great source of vitamins. At the same time, it’s great to cook, great to enjoy.
SeafoodSource: Tell us a little bit about The Happy Protein campaign.
Barcenas: The Happy Protein campaign was something we developed along with Hopscoth, our agency that is based in France. They are present in 26 countries around the world, and they’ve been doing a pretty good job with other products in the fresh industry, from avocados to produce to – in this case, obviously – shrimp. The idea is that ...
