Wixter Seafood
The pandemic has changed a lot of things but the popularity of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.-based Wixter Seafood’s staple offerings remains unaltered.
“We have our staples that always perform,” Wixter Founder/Owner Matt Mixter told SeafoodSource, including Norwegian salmon and U.S. wild shrimp and scallops, among others.
“Often, our customers are trying to recreate a meal from their favorite dinner spot,” Mixter said.
This propensity can be seen with Wixter’s Aquaculture Stewardship Council-certified Australian yellowtail offering, for instance, the founder said. It’s a species consumers have probably come across at their local Japanese restaurant that they’re looking to experience at home, where most meals have been eaten during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its launch, the product has “immediately resonated and continues to resonate both at retail, foodservice, and soon with meal kits,” Mixter added.
A new SKU (stock-keeping unit) for Wixter – Norwegian Salmon Sashimi – has also drummed up a fair share of interest lately.
“There seems to be a good amount of interest emerging in seafood that can be used to make sushi,” Mixter said.
In June 2020, Wixter, which operates a sustainable seafood shop in Chicago, reported pickup among regional retailers in the U.S. Midwest of its frozen portion seafood line featuring a variety of species such as Norwegian salmon, mahi from Ecuador, Alaskan halibut, U.S. wild shrimp and scallops, and New Zealand orange roughy.
“Our supply chain transparency, packaging, and focus on the quality in the frozen bag has resulted in quick repeat purchases that we are very encouraged by,” Mixter told SeafoodSource in June 2020 regarding customer engagement with the frozen portion range.
Started by Mixter, a Hofseth North America principal, in 2015, Wixter Seafood was built upon principles of honesty, transparency, and uncompromising quality. It infuses its foundational values – providing sustainable, prime cuts with no preservatives, no additives, and no antibiotics – into each of its frozen product creations, according to the brand.
“From sourcing to producing, to selling and consuming, we operate in the most sustainable way possible. We pride ourselves with being fully transparent in disclosing the origin and producer of every pound of seafood we offer. We make it easy for consumers and businesses to make informed choices for a healthy ocean and ensure abundant supplies of seafood for the future,” Wixter’s website states.
The seafood provider said it’s looking to continue forth with this mission heading into 2022, as it creates more innovative, responsibly-sourced seafood offerings – including ready-to-eat and value-added items – catered to modern dining habits.
“We aspire to put the most delicious sustainable seafood on every table by teaching consumers what ethically-sourced, 100 percent traceable frozen seafood looks and tastes like,” Mixter said.
The frozen format, Mixter added, "is more sustainable (less wasteful) and environmentally superior (lower carbon footprint + no Styrofoam) to fresh, so any increase in frozen consumption is a step in the right direction for our planet."
"Our purpose is to give the consumer that option in the segments mentioned above – independent and small to mid-sized operators that don’t have a convenient, high quality, private label option,” he said.
This SeafoodSource Q&A delves deeper into what’s in store for Wixter, how the supplier crafted its innovation response amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and more.
Photo courtesy of Wixter Seafood
