Anne French is vice president-sales and marketing at Huna Totem Corp., which is the parent company of Dear North, a producer of jarred smoked sockeye salmon and a line of smoked coho salmon bites. French has more than 20 years of experience as a brand strategy executive working with Procter & Gamble, Clorox, Intuit and Foote, Cone & Belding.
SeafoodSource: Regarding Dear North, how and why you developed your product line and what the strategy is for the brand going forward?
French: The Dear North team was commissioned to define what is possible in terms of developing a new consumer brand for Huna Totem Corporation (HTC), an Alaska Native corporation. We started with a blank slate. We first had to determine what Alaska represented and could represent to those in the lower 48. We then had to validate these insights with consumers, which we did in two different quantitative consumer research studies, the first of which was designed to identify and quantify the size of the target consumer segment who would be interested in such a proposition; the second of which was to define which Alaska product areas this segment was interested in.
We cast a wide net. At each step of the process, we worked to funnel our insights into a clear consumer need/product starting point. Our early discovery work led us to conclude what many on the team instinctively already believed: A brand from Alaska is a big idea; it’s more than a product idea, it’s a lifestyle idea. Our quantitative consumer work reinforced this hypothesis, because 20 of the 58 product ideas across five categories tested off the charts in terms of purchase intent and distinctiveness among our core target segment. The “lifestyle” that emerged is one that encompasses food as well as home (blankets, tabletop, tools, storage), and skin/body/beauty care.
Our target consumer is extremely interested in knowing more about and having a piece of the Alaska lifestyle she imagines and hopes really exists and, in some cases, has experienced. What draws her to us is the story of the exquisitely crafted; the invitation to connect on a personal level and in an intimate way; the story of sharing the beauty, abundance, and history of Alaska with others; the immersive, transformative, sensory experience she expects and can have everywhere she goes in Alaska; the story of extreme generosity, extreme kindness, extreme beauty and extreme quality.
Our opportunity is to marry our target’s outsized desire for everything and anything Alaskan with what Alaska, its people and land, has to offer. While we have to focus to start, we have to be mindful not to shortchange this larger story.
SeafoodSource: What is the relationship between Huna Totem Corporation and Dear North?
French: HTC is the parent company of Dear North. Huna Totem Corporation was formed under the terms of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) enacted by Congress 18 December, 1971. ANCSA paved the way for the formation of 12 Alaska Native regional corporations and approximately 200 village corporations spread throughout 12 regions in Alaska.
Huna Totem Corporation has become one of the most successful village corporations in Alaska and is currently owned by more than 1,360 shareholders whose ancestral roots are to the village of Hoonah in Southeast Alaska.
SeafoodSource: What has been Dear North’s biggest business challenge thus far?
French: Our biggest challenge has been balancing the artisan spirit of Alaska with the rigors of making a consistent product for delivery to a market outside of Alaska. What makes producing the product difficult is that it is a culinary product. It starts with the best fish, using the fillet and then delicately brining and smoking. Every variable is closely monitored and precisely followed. We do not use leftover parts of the fish as so many other dried fish products use and our strict quality standards around texture, translucency, taste, mouthfeel and flavor make all the difference in the finished product.
Our salmon all comes from Alaska—predominantly from the ocean in the Southeast. Some of our salmon is caught by shareholders and some comes from independent Alaskan fishermen. We know most of our fishermen and work with a sourcing partner whose quality standards of care and handling meet ours.
SeafoodSource: What’s your greatest business achievement?
French: Our greatest achievement is having consumer-preferred flavors, packaging and a business name that has been recognized by industry experts. We have captured the essence of the unexpected side of Alaska and Alaskans the way no other business has ever done and our target consumer base can’t get enough. We won best new seafood product at Natural Products Expo West (out of 500 submissions) and were a runner up with best new packaging (one of three finalists out of 500).
SeafoodSource: What do you see as the one or two top issues facing the Alaska salmon industry, and what solutions would you offer to address those issues?
French: In a nutshell, fulfilling escalating demand while respecting and working in concert with Alaska Native traditions of stewardship, environmental reverence and care for all of life in Alaska.
The state of Alaska has the strictest fishing regulations in the world and for good reason and by design. The recently FDA green-lighted GMO Atlantic salmon is at the opposite end of the spectrum from our lifestyle and stewardship principles.
SeafoodSource: Given the chance to address a room filled with seafood industry executives, what would be the one nugget of wisdom you’d like to offer them as your closing remark?
French: Quality and traceability of the fish is key to delivering superior taste. Consumers can taste the difference when fish is fresh, of high quality and handled with expert care. They care about the whole story, all aspects, from the different types of fish and the seasons during which they are caught to the environmental and oceanic regulations that protect them to where they are caught and by whom to how they are handled and preserved, all the way down to the whole supply chain of how they reach the store.
Being close and attentive to consumer needs – from their palates to their hearts – is essential to successfully navigating the future and delivering superior products that win in the marketplace.
