Sellers of other seafood species are envious of Copper River salmon, the red-fleshed fish that gets all the attention starting in mid-May. For three months in advance, shoppers around the country bug retailers to find out when the first Copper River delivery will be made.
Grocery chains and fish markets wisely used the pomp and circumstance of the first wild Alaska salmon run to kick off the summer seafood season, which also includes wild halibut for grilling and shrimp for salads, among others.
Stillwater, Minn.-based Cub Foods, which operates 73 stores in the Midwest, used a multi-pronged advertising approach in advance of this year’s Copper River salmon run.
First, Director of Perishables Jeff Sahr committed to a quantity of the fish, without knowing the price. “He wanted to be the first in his market to promote Copper River salmon and differentiate the stores from the big box chains,” says Scott Wickert, VP of sales and marketing for distributor Morey's Seafood International of Motley, Minn., which supplies wild salmon to Cub Foods.
“We started about 10 years ago, and have made Copper River quite a selling festival. We see a steady gain [in sales] every year,” says Sahr.
To read the rest of the story on summer salmon sales at the retail level, click here. Written by SeaFood Business and SeafoodSource Contributing Editor Christine Blank, the story ran in the July issue of SeaFood Business magazine.
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