While millions of Americans dined out for Mother’s Day, numerous families also grilled seafood or prepared seafood meals at home for mom.
As a result, fish markets and grocery stores across the country capitalized on seafood sales with sampling events and specials. For example, Bend, Ore.-based C.E. Lovejoy’s Market in Brookswood held a special “Outdoor Fish Market & Live Lobster Drop” on 11 May. The event featured live lobster and shrimp tanks and specials, a representative demonstrating how to cook and prepare seafood, a wine tasting, and a produce tent. In addition, kids made Mother’s Day cards.
At Wild Ocean Seafood Market’s Titusville, Fla., store, the store held a food tasting event on Mother’s Day and offered wine and seafood specials. “We get a lot of people in during that time — those are our three-times-a-year customers — so we really try to capitalize on that traffic,” Cinthia Sandoval, outreach director and fishmonger at Wild Ocean, told SeafoodSource.
In addition, Wild Ocean shoppers who spent USD 25 in the store received 10 percent off wines. “Everyone knows that we carry great seafood, but they don’t know that we carry craft beers and wines,” Sandoval said.
Mother’s Day seafood specials at Wild Ocean included Maine lobster for USD 12 a pound and scallops for USD 10 a pound. “People usually love to get Maine lobsters for their moms, so we (had) that on special. It was USD 17.99 a pound,” Sandoval said. Wild Ocean also prominently displayed the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service’s seafood recipe pamphlets throughout the day.
At Cod & Capers Seafood Market & Restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., the retailer smartly grouped premium surf-and-turf items together to give shoppers ideas for special Mother’s Day meals. “Half of the people that have mothers are guys and, typically, they are not too creative when it comes to food,” Steve Gyland, owner of Cod & Capers, told SeafoodSource.
Its surf-and-turf display featured African lobster tails at USD 9.95 each for 3.5 to 4-ounce tails, center leg cut red king crab for USD 9.95 each, Bee Gee wild shrimp for USD 27.95 a pound, and Creekstone Farms Black Angus fillets for USD 12.95 each. “You can mix-and-match items. It’s a high-end grouping, but Mom is worth it,” Gyland said.
