Edmonds, Washington, U.S.A.-based Alaskan Leader Seafoods is steadily building a domestic market for black cod, capitalizing on increased availability and more affordable prices for the premium fish while it introduces the product to retail stores and restaurants across the country.
The quota allowance for Alaskan black cod has been steadily on the rise since 2019 with a “very healthy biomass,” Alaskan Leader Vice President of Sales Scott Sandvig told SeafoodSource. In 2019, the total allowable catch was 26 million pounds, and since then has increased to 43 million pounds in 2021, 56 million pounds in 2022, and 62 million pounds in 2023.
This increased supply presented an opportunity to keep more of the region’s black cod in the domestic market, instead of mainly looking for overseas buyers, Alaskan Leader President of the Value-Added Division Keith Singleton told SeafoodSource.
“Traditionally, this fish is sold overseas. We thought this might be an opportune time to expand the domestic market,” he said.
In addition to taking advantage of favorable prices and availability, the company also started to gain recognition for the quality of its products, winning the Alaska Symphony of Seafoods People’s Choice Award in both Seattle, Washington, and Juneau, Alaska, in 2022 for black cod in miso sauce, Singleton said.
“We made the Nobu miso sauce recipe … and won the People’s Choice Award. Consumers and retailers began asking, ‘Why can’t you put the recipe on the fish in a vacuum-sealed pouch?” Singleton said. “[So] we started making bags and portions with the reference to the recipe on the back.”
This concoction of factors led Alaskan Leader to start searching for miso sauce manufacturers. The domestic search came up short, so company executives decided to find “the best miso factory in Japan,” Singleton said, eventually landing on Hikari Miso in Nagano.
“We were introduced to the factory owner, and it was the most amazing trip … going into Tokyo, catching the … train into the farmlands and all the way to the Japanese Alps,” Singleton said. “The people, the farms, and serene views were magical. I knew that we had come to the right place.”
The resulting product is a packaged Alaskan black cod infused with Hikari miso, which is certified organic and GMO-free, providing a restaurant-quality meal at home as well as a healthy, Alaskan seafood option. Black cod, or sablefish, provides an extremely nutritious source of omega-3, offering the highest levels of DHA and EPA omega-3 fatty acids among the Alaskan region’s popular commercial species, the company said.
The company’s miso sablefish is also a “clean” product, Sandvig said.
“With marinated products, the ingredient deck can get pretty complicated. This is four or five ingredients [only], including black cod," he said.
The combination of Japanese miso with buttery sablefish has already enjoyed success at white-tablecloth restaurants on the U.S. West Coast, Singleton and Sandvig said. San Francisco, California, U.S.A.-based Pacific Catch, which operates several restaurants in California, carries the fish, and Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Ivar’s will be carrying it soon.
Now, foodservice distributor US Foods is taking the product nationwide, Singleton said. Upscale restaurants in New York City and Chicago are among the target markets.
The company will also officially launch 12-ounce packages of the product into club stores and other retailers shortly after receiving early orders.
Increased demand for restaurant-quality frozen meals at retail has Singleton and Sandvig expecting success with Alaskan Leader’s black sablefish, which is typically priced similarly to Chilean sea bass and halibut.
“You just thaw and then broil the fish. When you make it that simple, you open it up to the working class as well. You can bring a five-star recipe to your house,” Singleton said.
Alaskan Leader wanted to launch the product ahead of the new year so retailers could be ready for the traditional increase in consumer demand.
“Starting 1 January, you see a huge shift in consumers’ diets toward seafood for healthy, clean eating,” Sandvig noted.
The company is one of the largest longline fishing and seafood businesses in the country. It is vertically integrated and has achieved sustained growth through the construction of new fishing vessels, acquisition of Alaskan fishing rights, and development of both commodity and value-added products.
Photo courtesy of Alaskan Leader Seafoods
