U.S. seafood sales continued to drop in September, but one grocery chain has defied these trends and is realizing high sales – particularly on crab and farmed salmon – with its new National Seafood Month promotions expected to further hike profits across its fresh and frozen seafood departments.
Downers Grove, Illinois, U.S.A.-based Fresh Thyme Market, which operates 70 stores across the U.S. Midwest region, saw an impressive 390 percent increase in crab sales value in September, which included purchases of snow crab clusters, jumbo king crab legs, colossal king crab legs, and crab claws. Volume, meanwhile, shot up 774 percent, Fresh Thyme Meat and Seafood Sales, Merchandising, Marketing, and Procurement Lead Jason Resner told SeafoodSource.
One strategy that paid off for the company was that Fresh Thyme partnered with major U.S. crab importer Direct Source, based in Bellevue, Washington, U.S.A., as soon as snow crab prices dropped earlier this year to lock in a favorable price.
“Those cost-benefit gaps are not the same now, but at the beginning of the season, they were notable … we think we are the only retailer that capitalized on it,” Resner said.
Thanks to the partnership with Direct Source, the retailer has been regularly promoting snow crab clusters for between USD 6.99 (EUR 6.64) and USD 7.99 (EUR 7.58) per pound, king crab arm and claw deals for USD 17.99 (EUR 17.08) per pound, and colossal king crab legs at USD 34.99 (EUR 33.22) per pound.
Fresh Thyme’s salmon sales are also running contrary to national trends. National fresh salmon sales dropped 4.2 percent in September, but Fresh Thyme’s sales of fresh salmon have spiked, particularly in August and September.
Similar to its crab strategy, the retailer partnered with salmon supplier Camanchaca, based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A., to “hit the beginning of the farm-raised fresh coho salmon season.” It ran two “hot” ads that month “due to farm-raised coho being [at] a lower cost than farm-raised Atlantic salmon,” Resner said. He declined to reveal the promotional price.
Fresh Thyme has also been advertising shrimp aggressively this year, leading to “the annual year-over-year tonnage sold [being] positive,” Resner added.
Overall U.S. retail seafood sales continued their freefall in September. Fresh seafood sales slid 6.6 percent, while frozen seafood sales dropped 8.7 percent, according to new data from Circana analyzed by Lakeland, Florida, U.S.A.-based 210 Analytics.
Frozen crab sales – which had been soaring since the start of the year – declined a significant 15.8 percent in dollar value and 61.4 percent in volume in September.
Nevertheless, Fresh Thyme executives expect to continue strong sales of crab, salmon, and other species in October as it conducts marketing and promotions for National Seafood Month. The company’s most recent circular advertisement, which started on 18 October and runs for one week, features discounts and buy-one-get-one (BOGO) offers on several species.
In the circular, the company is touting snow crab clusters for USD 7.99 (EUR 7.58) per pound; USD 19.99 (EUR 18.86) per pound deals for jumbo king crab legs; coho salmon fillets for USD 6.99 (EUR 6.64) per pound; USD 5.99 (EUR 5.70) a pound for colossal raw easy peel 13/15 count shrimp, or 31/40-count raw easy peeled cooked shrimp; USD 7.99 per pound for frozen Australis barramundi; and BOGOs on 4-ounce lobster tails and Ready Brothers premium lobster mac and cheese or lobster risotto.
“These items generate a better chance for an incremental purchase as most items are not originally on the average customer’s shopping list, and they attract new customers to our stores,” Resner said.
Further advertising its deals, Fresh Thyme is conducting live cooking demonstrations on Instagram and providing recipes on social media to promote its seafood during National Seafood Month. Fresh Thyme’s consistent advertising, in-store displays, and digital and social media marketing posts have also spurred sales throughout the year, Resner said.
The company’s fresh seafood department continues to help differentiate Fresh Thyme Market from competitors and provides its customers “an enhanced shopping experience every ‘thyme’ they come into our stores,” Resner said.
Photo courtesy of Fresh Thyme Market
