Portland, Maine, U.S.A.-based Cozy Harbor Seafood is launching a line of lobster-centric meal kits.
The company’s Lobster Tonight Chef’s Kit line includes three separate meal kits – Lobster Sliders, Lobster Neapolitan, and Lobster Alfredo. Step-by-step preparation and cooking instructions are included in the kits, Cozy Harbor President and CEO John Norton told SeafoodSource at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium.
“A lot of consumers are hesitant about lobster. They don’t know how to prepare it; they’re afraid of messing it up. It’s actually one of the easiest proteins to cook and prepare, but we think because of the ease of these kits, more people will be drawn into lobster and learn how to successfully prepare it,” Norton said.
The Lobster Sliders are a spin on the classic lobster roll. The product uses claw and knuckle lobster meat, to be placed on four slider rolls, complemented with a lemon herb butter. It also includes six ounces of tater tots, two small brownies for dessert.
“It’s targeted at the hot butter lobster crowd,” Norton said.
Both of the second items use split lobster tails, and come with pre-cooked pasta and grated cheese. The Lobster Neapolitan includes vegetables and a tomato basic cream sauce. The Lobster Alfredo includes vegetables and a parmesan cream sauce.
“The lobsters are designed for cooking in a sauté pan. You sauté three minutes, flip, cook three more, remove from the pan, put the vegetables in, warm the sauce up, warm up the pasta, and top with the lobster,” Norton said. “It’s meant to be fast and simple.”
Cozy Harbor is in talks with two regional U.S. retailers interested in carrying the product, which Norton said he expects to start shipping by July or August.
“We thought, why not see if there’s an interest at the supermarket level for selling a product that’s easy, fast, good and appeals to the generation who may not have a lot of cooking skills,” Norton said. “We see the potential for these products as being pretty significant.”
Now that the Lobster Tonight Chef’s Kits are in development, Norton said Cozy Harbor is considering expanding the kits into direct home delivery. The company will soon enter discussions with contractors who will help the company set up its direct-mailing system, expected to start in the fall of 2018, Norton said.
