U.S. retailers are wrapping up their Lenten season with new seafood promotions for Good Friday — the day Catholics abstain from eating red meat — and Easter weekend.
Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant Wal-Mart, which unveiled this week that just over half (51 percent) of its sales are now from groceries, is running several seafood promotions throughout the weekend.
At Wal-Mart Supercenters in the Southeast, the chain’s specials include: 2-pound bags of frozen wild salmon fillets for USD 7 each; 2-pound bags of large, frozen shrimp for USD 10 each; and 4-pound bags of Fishin’ brand frozen tilapia fillets for USD 11 each.
LaBonne’s Market, a three-store grocery chain in Woodbury, Conn., is primarily promoting fresh fish, mussels and clams for the weekend.
“They [customers] will mainly be eating seafood for Good Friday,” said Ken De La Rosa, meat and seafood director for LaBonne’s. The retailer’s Easter weekend ad includes Georgia Banks sole for USD 9.99 a pound and fresh mussels for USD 1.99 a pound.
Bristol Farms, a 14-store upscale retailer based in Carson, Calif., is also featuring fresh, prepared sole. Lemon Pepper Battered Sole is on special for USD 9.99 a pound this weekend.
Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway, one of the country’s largest food retailers, promises its shoppers “low prices on everything for Easter.” To that end, Safeway is promoting colossal, raw, wild Mexican shrimp for USD 8.99 a pound; fresh Dover sole fillets for USD 5.99 a pound; fresh colossal sea scallops for USD 9.99 a pound; and 10-ounce jars of fresh medium oysters for USD 3.99 each.
Giant Food of Landover, Md., which operates more than 180 stores in the Mid-Atlantic, is featuring fresh, farmed Atlantic salmon fillets for USD 7.99 a pound. The retailer’s weekly circular also includes a recipe for Sugary Ginger Baked Salmon.
Giant Food is also advertising boneless tuna steaks and boneless swordfish steaks for USD 7.99 a pound; Phillips backfin crabmeat for USD 8.99 per 12-ounce container; snow crab clusters for USD 5.99 a pound; and frozen, Wild Seas extra jumbo raw Gulf shrimp for USD 14.98 per two-pound bag.
