Kroger, Meijer and other United States grocery chains will soon begin carrying SeaPak’s new Pub Style Beer Battered frozen seafood line.
Two of the three products in the line – SeaPak Pub Style Beer Battered Cod and SeaPakPub Style Beer Battered Crab Poppers – are new, while the third product is a 9-ounce version of the supplier’s popular Beer Battered Shrimp.
“From our research, we know that consumers are looking to duplicate restaurant-style, beer-battered seafood at home, which was the basis behind the creation of this new line,” said Leslie Harris Thomas, marketing manager for St. Simons Island, Georgia-based SeaPak.
In addition, consumer preference for seafood such as shrimp, crab and cod, combined with the persistent rise in popularity of beer-battered foods, were key drivers behind SeaPak’s Pub Style Beer Battered concept. “In fact, beer-battered is now second only to bread crumbs in terms of value-added methods and has ample room for further growth,” the supplier said in a statement.
Plus, annual consumption of SeaPak’s Beer Battered shrimp continues to increase, “indicating the new Pub Style line will be a strong sales driver within the frozen seafood segment overall,” Harris Thomas said. “The key is to deliver restaurant-style authenticity, which is how these new offerings, made with real beer, will differentiate from other products within the marketplace.”
The Pub Style Beer Battered line will be available in Kroger and Meijer supermarkets, as well as in selected supermarkets owned by Ahold Delhaize, such as Food Lion, Hannaford, and Stop & Shop, in October.
The Beer Battered Crab Poppers will be sold at Walmart locations starting in January 2018.
The Pub Style Beer Battered Cod is made with longline, wild-caught cod fillets certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, according to SeaPak, while the Beer Battered Crab Poppers are produced using wild-caught blue swimming crab certified by the National Fisheries Institute’s Crab Council.
Meanwhile, its longstanding Beer Battered Shrimp are made with tail-on, and are 3-star Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certified.
