A SURE LURE

LYNNE MILLER

Statistics show Americans like the idea of eating more seafood, but the reality is that they still feel skittish about cooking fish at home. Retailers looking to overcome that reluctance tell SN selling fresh and frozen seafood in supermarkets -- like fishing itself -- takes careful planning, patience and an eye for creativity.

Promotions are key to the success of seafood, said Mohammad Jeddy, seafood buyer and department director for Houston-based Fiesta Mart. The 43-store chain's annual spring crawfish festival is definitely festive -- a live band performs zydeco tunes in stores. Demonstrations featuring samples of cooked crawfish helped push up sales -- sometimes the retailer sees double-digit increases, Jeddy said.

"Every time we have a promotion, it impacts sales," he said. "It brings in new customers."

Crawfish wasn't the only species to get the star treatment this year; in April, oysters were featured during a week-long promotion that included in-store demonstrations of farm-raised product.

Fiesta invests so much in seafood because the category is a signature department -- the stores carry more than 100 seafood and fish varieties, including a dozen varieties of shrimp alone, said Jeddy. He declined to reveal how much seafood contributes to overall store sales, but noted it is "much, much higher than the national average contribution."

Fiesta caters to the tastes of an ethnically diverse market. Octopus -- "pulpo" in Spanish -- is a strong seller at stores in Hispanic neighborhoods, while catfish, gulf fish and red fish are in demand at stores that serve African-Americans, Jeddy said. Anglo customers like salmon, bass, tuna and swordfish.

Of them all, shrimp is the hands-down, top seller, and Fiesta carries everything from head-on to peeled, cooked and ready-to-eat shrimp. Adding to its appeal, shrimp has become more affordable. Oversupply has caused retail prices on shrimp to drop 30% to 40% lower this year than last year, Jeddy said. The resulting impact on dollar volume is offset by larger quantities sold.

The numbers show seafood can be profitable if marketed with an eye toward promotion, and potential customers are everywhere, statistics show. Last year marked the third consecutive year of growth in seafood consumption, with the average American devouring 15.6 pounds of fish -- that includes 10.5 pounds of fresh and frozen product, according to the National Fisheries Institute, Arlington, Va.

These customers need to be captured, however, and one mistake supermarkets make is not having well-trained, knowledgeable employees to answer questions from shoppers. At Fiesta, employees attend seminars where they receive training in safe handling and cooking techniques. They're the first ones to get the scoop every time a new fish is rolled out.

"We cook it, sample it and give employees [quality-control] training on the new fish," Jeddy said.

On the West Coast, a single-store independent in rural, eastern Washington state keeps the markup on fish low and sells it by the boatload -- literally. In the town of Twisp, population 1,000, in Washington's Methow Valley, Hank's Harvest Foods has weekend parking lot sales that feature a variety of fish displayed in an ice-filled, insulated, 10-foot-long Boston whaler. In the summer, an influx of tourists fills the community, and they flock to Hank's. An SN observer who visited the store during one of the parking lot sales overheard customers asking employees, "What's for dinner tonight?"

"We've been doing this for two years," said Chris Thomson, a store associate familiar with the program. "They see a boat full of seafood and it says fresh. When they see something prepackaged on a counter, it says old. Boring, too."

A lighted reader board, set up in the parking lot, lets customers know what's on special. The store also runs weekly radio ads promoting the event, Thomson said. The store offers packaging and fileting services at no extra charge.

Hank's carries a few dozen varieties of fish, with wild varieties of salmon being the top seller, Thomson said. Prices help move fish, he said. While competitors typically mark up fish prices 30% and higher, Thomson said, Hank's marks it up 10% to 20%.

"By keeping prices lower, we sell more product," Thomson said, noting seafood contributes up to 4% of overall store sales. "It's climbing every year. It is a good draw for the store."

Additionally, an in-store smoker helps keep shrink below average by allowing associates to smoke unsold salmon and halibut.

Promotions can take many forms and retailers can operate on different levels. At Fiesta, shoppers not familiar with cooking techniques get a close-up look at how to prepare seafood at the retailer's cooking school in Houston. About half of the dishes prepared at the school are seafood dishes, Jeddy said.

Fiesta's strategy has been adopted by a number of retailers to take the mystery out of cooking fish and encourage buying.

Food broker and author Mike Bavota subscribes to the "taste-it-and-they'll-buy-it" theory. That's what shoppers did earlier this year at a Kash n' Karry unit in Tampa, Fla. They formed a long line and waited patiently for samples of scallops Bavota prepared, served -- and talked up. Outfitted in a chef's uniform, Bavota gave away 2,000 scallops over two hours.

"They stood in line two deep to get one scallop in their mouth," said Bavota, director of seafood sales for Program Sales and Marketing, China Grove, N.C., and author of a seafood cookbook. "I was constantly cooking. That's how you sell it."

Known as Sample Fest, the event was one part of a store-wide extravaganza that gave shoppers a whiff -- and a taste -- of a variety of foods. Kash n' Karry targets selected stores for two-month-long promotional activities, and Sample Fest is one part of the strategy, according to a source with the Tampa-based subsidiary of Delhaize America.

Bavota "does a pretty good job," the source told SN. "He's a salesman. We get quite a turnout, and we seem to capture repeat sales."

Kash n' Karry stores carry well over 100 items in seafood departments -- "a major department" for the retailer, the source said.

Taking a cue from their colleagues in deli and meat, seafood department managers are also finding the addition of value-added items to the seafood case is attracting shoppers and boosting sales.

"I think that's a real opportunity for retailers," said Larry Andrews, retail marketing director for the Juneau-based Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

On a recent visit to a unit of Whole Foods in Seattle, Andrews observed a service case containing 14 ready-to-cook seafood items. "It was beautifully displayed," he said. "I happened to see a number of customers buying the product. There were several people behind the counter."

On the day SN visited the Whole Foods store in Manhattan's Chelsea section, there were 13 value-added items, including calamari marinara and mussels marinara, displayed on black octagonal serving platters in a section of the service seafood department. The department is extensive, with an impressive assortment of whole fish, shellfish and filets on ice and an assortment of ready-to-cook dinners, including salmon and pasta, and the value-added section. Directly under it, SN observed packaged calamari, octopus and mussel salads, and Whole Foods private-label bottled marinades. Nearby, Asian items including crab pot stickers and shrimp rolls filled out the section.

Other unusual items included individually wrapped fresh tuna and fresh trout burgers, priced respectively at $2.49 and $2.59 apiece.

Adjacent to the department is a self-serve case of smoked fish, including salmon, mackerel and trout.

Signage is extensive -- a sign displayed in the whole fish section lets customers know they can have fish fileted at no charge. Other signs note the health benefits of eating fish, and characteristics of particular species and aquacuisine.

Now, the industry is watching to see if seafood can survive tougher economic times. Since 1987, the year seafood-consumption levels reached a modern-day record of 16.2 pounds per person, consumption levels have remained within range of surpassing that figure. And while the present economy might make consumers think twice before buying seafood, the recent endorsement from the American Heart Association could alleviate that reluctance.

"Our retail members say their sales are holding steady," said Linda Candler, NFI's vice president of communications. "We've got a strong, healthy message from the American Heart Association. Now, are people going to heed that or say it's too expensive? Christmas and the holiday season will be very telling whether people go for the luxury items or not."