The Choice Group and Ocean Beauty are among the bevy of seafood companies launching products at Seafood Expo North America, scheduled to take place 12 to 14 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
After success with its frozen Seafood Boil bags, launched last year, Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S.A.-based Choice Group’s Tastee Choice brand is featuring two new seafood boil bags – Clam Bake and Crawfish Boil – along with Breaded Butterfly and Coconut Butterfly Shrimp in SENA’s New Items display case and at Booth #1549 at Seafood Expo North America.
The Choice Group invested millions of dollars to upgrade one of its facilities in India to complete value-added breading for its seafood products, Tastee Choice Vice President of Sales and Marketing-Frozen Skillet Meal Division Moe Cheramie told SeafoodSource. All the shrimp processed in the Indian plant is certified to the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standard, Cheramie said.
“What makes us unique is that our raw material is coming directly from the ponds through the manufacturing and breading to the consumer, so it’s a once-frozen product,” Cheramie said. Plus, the bread shrimp boxes can be displayed vertically or horizontally, giving retailers much-needed flexibility in their frozen doors, and Tastee Choice’s breaded shrimp products are also affordable for inflation-weary shoppers, he said.
“We feel the category is ripe for a new player that can offer product within the USD 4.99 to USD 5.99 (EUR 4.72 to EUR 5.66) [per nine-ounce box] retail level,” Cheramie said.
Tastee Choice will add three more breaded shrimp products to its line by fall 2023, and will add two-pound bags in the future, Cheramie said.
Tastee Choice is also adding two items to its seafood boil frozen bag line, on the back of increased popularity of seafood boil restaurants in the U.S. and heightened demand for restaurant-style meals at home.
The company at first thought its original 2.2-pound Seafood Boil bag, launched just over a year ago, would primarily be a seasonal item.
“Now it is an item that sells year-round and is one of our most-popular products,” Cheramie said. “[It] not only provided customers with a convenient way to enjoy traditional flavors of seafood-restaurant cuisine at home, but also a sense of fulfilment that comes with homemade meals.”
The new 35-ounce Crawfish Boil includes domestic whole crawfish, andouille sausage, corn, potatoes, and special spice mix, while the Clam Bake includes corn on the cob, shrimp, andouille sausage, clams, potatoes, and a seasoning packet.
“We noticed there was nothing on the shelves to compete against those items that we felt were not overpriced,” Cheramie said. He said the 35.1-ounce bags retail for a suggested USD 9.99 to 10.99 [EUR 9.43 to EUR 10.38] each.
Separately, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based Ocean Beauty is rolling out a frozen Ocean Beauty Grill House burger along with new foodservice products under its Echo Falls and Icy Point smoked seafood lines. Ocean Beauty will be at Booth #1205 at Seafood Expo North America.
The Ocean Beauty Grill House Burger, which won the Best Foodservice Product award at the 2023 Alaska Symphony of Seafood competition, was created as a red meat alternative “that tastes as good as it looks,” the supplier said in a news release.
“We know there are many salmon burgers on the market, but ours is designed to satisfy your appetite like a beef burger, with a great juicy texture and a delicious hearty flavor,” Ocean Beauty National Value-Added Sales Manager Kevin Palmer said. “We think it is the-best tasting fish burger on the market and can’t wait for our customers to try it.”
Ocean Beauty’s Echo Falls and Icy Point brands are both adding pre-sliced, cold-smoked Atlantic salmon sides to their offerings. Echo Falls oak-smoked pre-sliced sides are made with sustainably sourced fresh Scottish salmon, and Icy Point brand features sustainably sourced Norwegian salmon. Both are cured using traditional recipes and smoked over oak chips.
In addition, the company is now offering its Echo Falls hot-smoked Atlantic salmon products, which have gained in popularity in six-ounce retail packs, in foodservice packs, the company said. Flavors of the sustainable-sourced Atlantic salmon line include Mexican Chili Lime, Northwest-Style Honey Cure, and Southwest Santa Fe.
“Echo Falls is well-known for its authentic recipes and transparent sourcing and our new products carry on this tradition,” Ocean Beauty Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ron Christianson said. “These versatile new items fit well on menus across foodservice sectors, from catering to fast casual to fine dining.”
Photo courtesy of Tastee Choice and Ocean Beauty
