Organizers of National Seafood Month and National Pescatarian Month promotions are outlining easy-to-make recipes and working to educate Americans on the best ways to cook seafood – along with simultaneously emphasizing the sustainability of many seafood products – in a bid to boost seafood consumption in the U.S.
Many American consumers – 74 percent – wish they ate seafood more often, and 82 percent want to eat more wild and sustainable seafood, according to Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) research. However, they often face challenges in finding culinary inspiration and clarity on how to ensure the seafood on their plate is the best choice. That’s why many seafood trade organizations believe that carefully curated promotions can provide the push Americans need to consume more seafood, ASMI said.
To that end, ASMI is compiling a group of experts who aim to provide culinary inspiration and educate consumers on sustainable practices within the seafood industry. Influential food industry experts, chefs, and creators will accomplish this by sharing cooking ideas and recipes throughout National Seafood Month, which takes place in October.
The “Cook Wild” campaign in which these experts are participating includes a sweepstakes to win a year’s supply of Alaskan seafood, a cooking class with an Alaskan chef, and a limited-edition seafood apron.
Seafood Nutrition Partnership, an Arlington, Virginia, U.S.A.-based nonprofit that aims to inspire healthy eating across America, is also getting in on National Seafood Month by launching its “Fall in Love with Seafood” campaign, reminding consumers how delicious, nutritious, and versatile seafood is to enjoy both at home and away from home, the organization said in a press release.
“Ultimately, we want to increase consumers’ craving for seafood and encourage America to Fall in Love with Seafood,” SNP Vice President of Marketing and Communications Sarah Crowley said.
When testing the viability of the new campaign, 85 percent of occasional seafood consumers surveyed agreed the campaign made them want to eat more seafood, Crowley added.
The Fall in Love with Seafood campaign is having its soft launch in October but will continue year-round, with key market activations starting in January 2024. SNP will announce key retailers and food service partners ahead of the new year.
Other organizations rolling out unique campaigns in October include the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), which is marketing its fourth annual National Pescatarian Month promotion featuring new fish and shellfish recipes, nutritional information, cooking tips, and an updated e-cookbook on its blog: Dish on Fish. In addition to new recipes, Dish on Fish will display a QR code this year to make it easy for consumers to download the e-cookbook onto their mobile devices, which they can then easily reference while cooking the meals the cookbook features.
Through Dish on Fish, NFI aims to “show people that going pescatarian can be simple and that seafood is both delicious and easy to prepare,” NFI Vice President of External Affairs and Councils Brandon Phillips said.
NFI is also conducting paid advertising campaigns across mainstream social media channels, a satellite media tour, fresh blog and social content, and organic public relations efforts throughout the month, which is particularly special for NFI because, in 2020, the organization was responsible for officially designating October as National Pescatarian Month.
“NFI felt the designation was important to reach the growing number of pescatarians who were, up until that point, mostly left out of the National Seafood Month conversation,” Phillips said. “The timing of National Pescatarian Month was strategically linked to National Seafood Month because it amplifies the traditional seafood consumption promotions happening during that time.”
The Global Seafood Alliance has decided to focus more on the sustainability angle of seafood consumption in October by executing its second annual “Choose Seafood with Standards” campaign, aiming to increase consumer awareness of GSA’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification and drive sales of responsibly produced and sourced seafood, GSA said.
“Our research shows that consumers who know BAP trust BAP,” GSA Marketing Manager Elise Avallon said. “That’s why GSA is committed to educating consumers about the label, what it means, and why retailers, restaurants, and direct delivery companies have made it part of their responsible sourcing policies.”
GSA aims to educate consumers through its social media channels and participation from key retailers, food service operators, and seafood and meal delivery companies. Participating companies include Aldi, Giant Eagle, Green Chef, H-E-B, Iberostar Hotels, Lidl, and Meijer, among others.
Campaign participants aim to show consumers how seafood “can make a positive contribution to [their] own health and the health and well-being of the fish, the workers, and the environment,” GSA said.
Photo courtesy of Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute
