Stavis Seafoods | SeaTru
Massachusetts-based seafood distributor and supplier Stavis Seafoods has been keeping a pulse on the wants and needs of today’s consumers, with its recent product launches speaking to that fact.
Back in December of 2018, the company expanded its BOS’N brand with a new full line of Argentine red shrimp products. Tailored for both foodservice and retail – featuring Peeled and Deveined, Easy-to-Peel, and Headless, Shell-On Argentine Red Shrimp – the line is “harvested on company-owned vessels and processed in company-owned plants,” Stavis said in a press release at the time of the launch. With these components, the product was able to provide consumers “with the simple, clear, and traceable hook-to-plate sourcing solution they demand,” the company explained.
Further down the line, in March of this year, Stavis Seafoods introduced SeaTru, a new lifestyle seafood brand that aims to connect and empower people to make informed decisions about the seafood that they eat, Richard Stavis, the chief sustainability officer for Stavis Seafoods, explained to SeafoodSource. Founded on principles of providing “delicious, high-quality seafood that is completely traceable, socially responsible, and sustainably sourced,” the SeaTru brand is targeted at millennial households, Stavis said, because the generation tends to be more influenced by factors beyond price tags.
“[Millennials] care and they make some great decisions and they make decisions differently than most other consumers do. For these people, many of the decisions that they make in their life are based upon their value system. They make conscious decisions that don’t have to do necessarily with being the most economical – it has to do with making [purchasing] choices that help them stay true to themselves,” according to Stavis, who spoke to SeafoodSource in-depth about the brand in May 2019.
Here’s what Stavis Seafoods had to share most recently with SeafoodSource about its innovation process for its SeaTru line, and the other products on offer in its portfolio.
What kind of trends have informed Stavis Seafoods’ latest product innovations?
One of the biggest influences has been the dramatic increase in consumer interest in how their food is sourced. Led by millennials, more consumers today want very specific details that describe how, where and when their seafood is harvested and processed. Fortunately, this particular trend is providing Stavis Seafoods with a great opportunity. Due to our recent partnership with Profand, we now have a vertically integrated supply chain that can directly source seafood from our own vessels and plants around the world. This enables us to show consumers the boat-to-plate sourcing story and traceability they desire.
Another constant influence is the steady increase in consumer demand for sustainable products. This not only led us to introduce more sustainable products this year, but to continue our role in developing and leading the sustainability discussion in seafood. We remain active in a number of organizations focused on the health and sustainability of our oceans and are even working to help start a Moroccan Octopus Fisheries Improvement Project and an Indian Squid Fisheries Improvement Project.
Finally, consumers today are looking for heat-and-eat, simple seafood items. This means more value-added solutions, microwavable or pre-cooked items and portions that provide simple home meals for consumers.
All these trends can be seen in our recent product launches. From our SeaTru brand, which includes quality portions and heat-and-eat, full seafood meals that can be easily prepared in a microwave in five minutes, to our Prince Edward Organic Mussels and our full line of BOS’N P&D Argentine Red Shrimp, each new product is sustainable, traceable from boat-to-plate and simple to cook.
Which products have you seen really resonate in 2018/2019?
- Our BOS’N Argentine Red Shrimp, Spanish Octopus, and SeaTru line of branded products have resonated with customers across the board.
- Argentine Red Shrimp has become an increasingly popular choice in the foodservice and retail channels and our shrimp is vertically integrated, traceable and sustainable.
- Our Whole Spanish Octopus and retail-ready BOS’N Select Cooked Spanish Octopus are both traceable and extremely high quality octopus in a growing U.S. category.
- The socially responsible, sustainable, and traceability standards required to qualify for our SeaTru brand has resonated with everyone because they meet so many of the current demands consumers have for seafood.
What key feature serves to set Stavis Seafoods’ new products apart in the market?
Our biggest differentiator or competitive advantage is our vertically-integrated supply chain. We like to say we have actual “boots on the boats” when we source seafood. Unlike many competitors, we can directly source seafood from our own vessels and plants around the world, which enables us to show consumers the traceability they desire and gives us access to stocks and quotas that other companies can’t access. This worldwide sourcing reach gives our customers unparalleled supply chain visibility, more sustainable seafood options and more access to quality seafood from around the globe.
Photo courtesy of Stavis Seafoods
