With more than USD 1 billion in annual sales, Seattle-based Trident Seafoods Corp. bills itself as North America’s largest seafood company.
The privately-held, American-owned harvesting, processing and marketing company is a major supplier to the restaurant/foodservice industry and grocery and club-store retailers.
While Trident isn’t big on revealing its stats, prepared seafoods accounted for 40 percent of its revenue — with sales growing at double-digit percentages — as of 2009, according to Puget Sound Business Journal. Trident Seafoods brands like Louis Kemp, acquired in 2006, Sea Alaska, SeaLegs and Rubenstein’s are retail staples — and Trident Salmon Burgers are the No. 1-selling brand in their category.
Still, when it comes to consumer awareness, the Trident Seafoods brand itself has had a relatively low profile.
Now, following a retail distribution push, the company is out to change that with an integrated consumer marketing campaign around Trident-branded products, starting with the salmon burgers.
Working with Seattle-based agency Cole & Weber United, Trident has launched advertising efforts in Minneapolis and Tampa -- two of the U.S. markets where the salmon burgers, along with the Trident Ultimate Fish Stick, now have “critical retail mass” (70 percent all-commodity-volume or ACV), according to Trident Seafoods VP, marketing Randy Eronimous.
Americans are crazier than ever about burgers and increasingly aware of salmon’s healthful properties, and about two-thirds of U.S. consumers are open to eating seafood on a regular basis, notes Eronimous. But the salmon-burger concept is still a new one to many.
The campaign focuses on making busy moms aware of Trident Salmon Burgers (made entirely from wild salmon fillet, with the bare minimum of binders, plus spices) as a healthy, tasty, versatile and convenient meal solution.
