Like other parts of the mollusk category – such as oysters – mussels saw a heavy drop in sales and imports in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. mussel imports dropped 12 percent, according to data from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) shared during a recent National Fisheries Institute Global Seafood Market Conference (GSMC) webinar. SeafoodSource is providing exclusive coverage of the GSMC webinar series, which will be offering market-focused content throughout 2021.
That drop in imports contained a more significant statistic – a huge shift in where mussel imports were coming from. Chilean imports saw a slight increase, while Canadian mussel imports saw a significant drop of nearly 10 million pounds.
The shift in imports is also an indication of a shift in product type. Canadian imports consist mainly of Prince Edward Island mussels, which are typically fresh and not frozen, and are often destined for foodservice applications. That product type saw a 27 percent drop.
In contrast, Chilean product is typically frozen, and saw a 5 percent increase in market share.
Performance Food Group Seafood Category Manager Jaimy Sorrell said that the increase in frozen can be attributed to a combination of both retail and foodservice demand.
“One of the things to note is that a lot of that frozen product is already sauced or seasoned, as opposed to the live which obviously isn’t,” she said. “It makes sense that that piece would do very well at retail.”
On the foodservice side of the industry, Sorrell said a pre-sauced product is also appealing as a time-saver.
“For restaurants, it’s kind of a premade easy dish as well,” she said. That makes it easier to prepare, and also saves on labor – a benefit if restaurants are having staffing issues.
Sorrell predicted that as restaurants come back online, those that saw success with a live product will try and get back to it.
“The trouble comes if you do have a struggling restaurant, and they do have labor issues, they may need to downgrade that to a more value-add product,” she said.
The mussel category is already showing positive signs, according to J.J. McDonnell and Co. Purchasing Manager Chris Rubino.
“We are seeing that slowly recover, and we saw the frozen market continue through covid pretty strong,” he said.
Rubino said that the success of mussels as a category can be used as a “bellwether” to how well restaurants are doing as a whole. Mussels have throughout the pandemic seen relatively low uptick on the takeout market, but are a popular item in restaurants.
“We like to think of it as an indicator species, because it’s a low-cost item, with a high margin for restaurants, but also is a low take-out item,” he said.
NPD Supplytrack data indicates mussels have fared better than other parts of the bivalve category, recovering 76 percent. That positive movement is a sign that restaurants are starting to open up once again.
Photo courtesy of Magdanatka/Shutterstock
