Traditional thinking about how consumers view proteins was upended by a presentation by Colleen McClellan of food trends tracking firm Dataessential.
Americans – and especially younger Americans – perceive food differently, with less emphasis on center-of-the-plate proteins and more excitement and focus on blends of flavors, textures and cuisines, McClellan said in a presentation at the National Fisheries Institute’s Global Seafood Market Conference in San Francsisco, California on Thursday, 19 January.
“It’s harder to identify protein as the star of the show,” McClellan said. “We have to change our mindset on how we go into retail, because historically, we’ve been focused on categories such as steak, chicken or salmon. Now we’re seeing traditional entrees starting to decline in people’s minds. Proteins are being deconstructed, stacked or mixed in a bowl. Everything in a meal can take a starring role, and that will change food menuing, marketing and retail.”
Similarly, the formerly clear divide between American and ethnic food is blurring, McClellan said.
“The distinction used to be, you either go out for American food or ethnic food such as Indian, Vietnamese, or Thai. But that’s changing,” she said. “Ethnic is no longer ethnic food to the younger generation. They don’t have to put a label on it. Instead of going out to Mexican, they go out for tacos. Instead of Japanese, they go out for ramen.”
The influence of food trucks cannot be underestimated in identifying the roots of these changes, McClellan said.
“They focus on one or two things and do them really, really well,” she said. “They celebrate dish itself as a way to be perceived as unique.”
Why should the seafood industry care about these trends, which in large part pertain only to younger consumers such as millennials and Gen Zers? Because consumers generally eat as adults what they grow up eating as children and young adults, McClellan said.
“There has to be an effort to get ‘em interested in seafood while they’re young,” she said. “Being successful in this effort will create a solid long-term future for seafood.”
There are lots of positives from these trends that the seafood industry can take advantage of, McClellan said. For example, "seafood does really well in ethnically diverse and multicultural homes," which are making up a large and growing percentage of the overall U.S. population. And 73 percent of consumers consider seafood healthy, she added.
“I think that’s low, that number should be well into the 80s or low 90s,” she said.
It’s also a major draw for restaurants, with 72 percent of consumers saying they would go to a restaurant just for the seafood,” McClellan reported. That figure placed second among popular food items – losing out by a single percentage point to burgers.
Dataessential surveys also showed that while consumers associated seafood with sustainability, that might not mean what it sounds like.
“What people once thought of as ‘low-fat, low-calorie, low-carb’ has turned into ‘local, natural sustainable,’” McClellan said.
Seafood’s reputation is much more linked with healthy eating than environmental or social sustainability, she posited, with competing sustainability claims serving only to sow doubt and confusion.
“The more claims we make, the more confusing it gets in the mind of consumer,” she said. “We need to get rid of the claim and tout the benefits to them. It is important for us to think about what is our story; what do we want them to know and what is the benefit for them.”
This effort needs to happen, but a clear message is important. Otherwise, “We might become just a garnish – we’re already losing belly share,” McClellan said. “Doubt and confusion causes [the consumer to say], ‘I’ll just eat chicken.’”
