Chicken of the Sea | Yellowfin Tuna Slices; Infusions!
Thai Union Group-owned Chicken of the Sea has seen its latest seafood innovations broadly embraced and celebrated over the past few years.
The company saw its Yellowfin Tuna Slices take home the “Best New Foodservice Product” prize at the 2018 Seafood Excellence Awards at Seafood Expo North America in Boston, Massachusetts. The product, considered to be the “world’s first pre-sliced, pre-seasoned tuna slices,” has been highly regarded for its novelty.
“This is totally new; it’s something nobody has ever thought about before,” said Thai Union Group Director of Global Foodservice and Culinary Development Scott Solar upon receiving the award. “It comes from research about what customers are wanting; we moved on this innovation from that.”
Offering a healthier, convenient alternative to traditional lunch meat, according to Solar, the product is achieved with whole yellowfin tuna loins cooked through high-pressure processing. Marketed to foodservice operators, the Yellowfin Tuna Slices come in two initial flavors: Black Pepper and Cajun. The product is sold in two-pound packages with two, 16-ounce yellowfin tuna slices per pack. Jeff Hill, vice president of foodservice at Chicken of the Sea, told SeafoodSource in March 2018 that the slices ultimately were incepted to address an “innovation void” in the tuna fish sandwich segment and “we haven’t seen anything like [this] in the marketplace.”
“Yellowfin slices address this void by allowing consumers to enjoy tuna without being drenched in mayo and other ingredients,” Hill said. “The product also allows operators to be more innovative in the way they serve tuna, whether in a Bahn Mi Sandwich, Asian salad or a new take on a sushi roll.”
The following year, Chicken of the Sea introduced its Infusions tuna cups range nationwide, after a limited launch in August 2018. Designed for a light meal or snack on-the-go, Infusions is a resealable, single-serve recyclable cup of wild-caught tuna with a built-in fork, Chicken of the Sea explained in a press release back in February 2019. The cups are geared toward millennials, who are on-the-go and aspiring to healthy lifestyles.
“Infusions fulfills consumers’ unmet need for on-the-go snacks that are not only delicious, but also high in protein, low in sugar, and conveniently packaged,” said Patty Essick, director of innovation for Chicken of the Sea International, in a press release announcing the nationwide release. “Infusions aims to bring tuna to the forefront of healthy eating by pairing high protein with savory flavors and convenience.”
Each Infusions cup has 20 to 22 grams of protein, are low in fat, and all are either sugar-free or very low in sugar. The cups, which hold 80 grams of shelf-stable tuna and minimize the odor that’s typically associated with canned or pouched tuna, come in four flavors: Lemon & Thyme, Sundried Tomato, Thai Chili, and Basil. Craig Rexroad, Thai Union’s communications director for North America (Thai Union owns Chicken of the Sea), told SeafoodSource this spring that the line can be found at most major grocery and mass merchandiser chains, including Meijer, Albertsons, Costco, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Publix, Walmart, and Kroger.
“It’s the perfect snack,” he said.
As the company was upping its marketing of the line in May, Diego Isaza, vice president of marketing for Chicken of the Sea, confirmed to SeafoodSource that the business’s overall innovation trajectory was aimed high for the next three years.
“We have a very robust innovation pipeline for the next three years,” Isaza said. “This fall, we will launch a new line of seafood and new flavors of Infusions.”
Photo courtesy of Chicken of the Sea
