A week ago, Mark Tupper, president of Triad Fisheries Ltd. in Bothell, Wash., which markets frozen troll-caught Alaska salmon under the Bruce Gore name, talked to SeafoodSource about the challenge of dispelling the misperception that frozen fish is inferior to fresh.
Southstream Seafoods — which markets frozen cod, haddock, Alaska pollock, turbot, ocean perch and Cape Capensis, among other species, under the Frostmark brand — has the same challenge. On Wednesday, Andrea Rekrut, the Warwick, R.I., company's marketing manager, shared her thoughts with SeafoodSource on the fresh-vs.-frozen debate, the importance of economic integrity and setting wild fish apart from farmed in the marketplace.
In late May, Southstream signed a deal with Thorjborn Ltd. to be the Icelandic company's primary U.S. importer of its frozen-at-sea cod, haddock and pollock fillets.
Hedlund: Is reversing the misperception that frozen seafood is inferior to fresh accomplishable?
Rekrut: It's all about education and perception vs. reality. If you really look at it — perception vs. reality — we've all been conditioned to believe that fresh is better. But the reality is, when you're measuring protein breakdown and bacteria counts [in seafood], fresh is the least freshest of the two.
I really like the quote from Astrid Scholz, [who's] with the Portland [Ore.] nonprofit Ecotrust, "Fish shouldn't fly. They should swim." Unless you live within 100 miles of the coast or Great Lakes, your fish will be [shipped] in an airplane and in a refrigerator anywhere from nine to 14 days. So how fresh is it? It's all about educating our customers and consumers about how fresh is fresh.
Is your tagline "Frozen is the new fresh" resonating with your foodservice and retail customers?
It is, but it takes time. First, there's the discussion. And then there's the sampling so they can experience the quality. It's the quality that wins them over. When you think fresh, unless you live within 100 miles of the ocean, it's not really fresh.
Southstream emphasizes its commitment to economic integrity in its marketing approach. One of your taglines is "You wouldn't want fish in your water. Why would you want water in your fish?" Is this tactic working?
We've always stood behind our 100 percent net weight product. Pretty much since I started [at Southstream in 2007] I've worked to get that message out. It's doing what's right. We have great relationships with our customers. It's all about trust with our existing customers. As far as [attracting] new customers, it's helping, too.
Are recent state and federal efforts to crack down on illegal practices such as short-weighting and mislabeling working?
It's showing that they're doing something. The bottom line is some people will always care only about price. But it's a start. When I started I didn't see anything being done [about fraud]. It is helping.
Are there other messages Southstream is pushing?
Wild-caught. It's a way to set our product apart from the competition. One of our slogans is "Our boat wouldn't even fit in their pond."
