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STUDY STRESSES SEAFOOD'S POTENTIAL, PROJECTS CONTINUED GROWTH IN SALES

CHICAGO -- A wave of new market factors has strengthened seafood's potential and promises to keep sales climbing, according to a new study that explored consumer usage and attitudes toward fish and seafood.What's more, retailers can further buoy their sales by tackling the objections consumers have voiced about buying fish and seafood, researchers said. Indeed, SN talked to some retailers who have

CHICAGO -- A wave of new market factors has strengthened seafood's potential and promises to keep sales climbing, according to a new study that explored consumer usage and attitudes toward fish and seafood.

What's more, retailers can further buoy their sales by tackling the objections consumers have voiced about buying fish and seafood, researchers said. Indeed, SN talked to some retailers who have renewed their commitment to store seafood departments with good results.

The findings contained in the study, commissioned by Mintel, a global marketing research firm, were based on responses from 1,000 adults around the country.

While confirming there's hesitancy among consumers when it comes to buying fish and seafood, the study also revealed that the hesitancy often stems from lack of cooking knowledge.

With some retailer- and manufacturer-initiated education, there appears to be a fertile market waiting. When respondents were asked which form of meat they are most tired of eating, only 7% said fish, compared to 40% for poultry and 23% for red meat.

When asked which is easiest to prepare, only 15% said fish/seafood. That compares to 41% for red meat and 35% for poultry. Of those three choices, only 5% said fish/seafood is best suited for the grill.

Nonetheless, the study showed retail sales of fish and seafood are on the rise and predicts sales will climb 21% in the next five years. Sales at stand-alone fish markets and specialty stores are down, but overall, fish and seafood sales are estimated to be up 7.5% in 2004, researchers said.

"Grocers have stepped up to the plate and have put a great deal of effort into their fish aisles and counters," said Alissa Ostrowski, Mintel's public relations director. "So consumers, who have little free time as it is, are less inclined to make a special trip to a fish market when they can find fresh fish and great variety at their local grocery store." Ukrop's Super Markets, a 28-unit independent based in Richmond, Va., is a case in point. "We've put our attention on seafood. We have as many as 25 to 30 different varieties in the fresh seafood case," said Alan Warren, director, meat and seafood. "That's about 20% more than we had three years ago, and seafood sales for us are brisk. We've had tremendous growth in same-store sales each year. The variety and the freshness gives us a point of differentiation from the big-box players."

A West Coast retailer told SN he has trained the spotlight on fresh seafood just in the last 18 months. Kevin Stormans, co-owner of two Thriftway stores -- Ralph's Thriftway and Bay View Thriftway in Olympia, Wash. -- said his customers had been asking for more variety. Adding products and partnering with a regionally known brand of seafood have served Stormans well.

"We've essentially doubled our seafood sales in the last two years," he said.

Stormans gives a lot of the credit to having a service seafood counter because associates can talk to customers about the items and offer preparation tips. Warren at Ukrop's pointed out that all his seafood items in self-service carry a corner sticker with cooking instructions.

Several converging factors make it a good time to take advantage of the fish and seafood category, the Mintel study pointed out.

The health and wellness trend, the category's appeal to ethnic consumers and the narrowing of the price gap between fish and other proteins - brought on by the high-protein diet trend - all bode well for the category.

TAGS: Seafood