Rodney Fund is the managing director of the Pomp Agency, an MPH marketing collaborative company, and has more than 20 years of business development, marketing, and corporate strategy experience in the seafood industry.
No matter the industry or the product, the only place money comes into the equation is through sales. As much as that is true in every industry, the pressure to get it done quickly is never greater than with an item as perishable as seafood.
Many people believe that all the money is made in purchasing correctly, but the most successful companies focus on sales and never forget their audience. In the seafood industry, success requires a partnership between the purveyor and the retailer. Understanding consumer wants and needs is the ultimate key to success. Seafood may be a commodity in and of itself, but understanding the nuances of the business while providing innovation and stellar service is what builds empires.
As we approach the 2024 Seafood Expo North America, it reminds the industry how important it is to be face to face with one another. So much can get done over the phone and through video conferencing, but the real magic happens in Beantown. Much of the focus is on impressing key buyers who walk the aisles, but those key buyers are not actual customers; they are searching for partners to bring the world's finest seafood to their customers.
Each year leading up to the show, many companies consider whether they should spend the time, money, and resources to attend. After all the deliberation, the answer is always clear: If all of the retailers, club stores, and foodservice professionals carve out time away from their businesses and families to come to Boston each March, that’s where everyone in the seafood industry should also be. Ultimately, it’s the one occasion each year where we get to immerse ourselves in information, trends, innovation, and camaraderie.
Seafood companies can spend tens of thousands of dollars on market research and focus groups to develop items in the hopes that they will do well in the marketplace, but the most effective and efficient path is to forge partnerships with the grocers and restaurant groups that make a living out of knowing their consumers and their buying habits.
As we navigate the show floor this year, remember that those key buyers care less about what they want and more about what their customers want. They know their audience.
