Offer More Kinds of Seafood More Often

Why is offering more kinds of seafood more often the right business move? Because nearly 1:3 American adults want to increase how much fish and seafood they eat over the next year or two. That’s a substantial market opportunity.

Eating more fish and seafood is the number one choice for the 36% of Americans who are looking to eat a bit less meat in the next year. It’s a much more popular choice than eating manufactured plant-based meat alternatives, which are falling out of favor and show a lack of long-term consumer adoption.

Interest in fish and seafood is also high among Millennials and Gen Zers, who are now the largest part of the of the consumer marketplace by number and purchasing power. They are looking for more variety in their choices beyond meat and chicken, and even beyond the most common kinds of fish and seafood.

One of the keys to selling more fish and seafood is diversifying your offer, including offering more affordable choices. This includes a host of frozen and domestically caught and harvested varieties.

For restaurant and foodservice operators, it’s also important to know that Millennials and Gen Zers eat a significantly larger share of their meals containing fish and seafood away from home and are much less inclined to cook it for themselves. So, when they do eat more fish and seafood, they are also likely to eat it out, or order it for home delivery.

Adding another kind of fish or seafood can help you simplify menu offerings and make them more interesting; and can be a different choice for your diners than another burger or chicken dish. There’s a lot of fish and seafood products that are frozen, canned, or have a longer refrigerated life. Many are also simple and quick to prepare and serve, and don’t require extensive culinary skill. Adding fish and seafood is a simple way to update menus without adding complexity.

Market Insights

Americans eat more meals containing fish and seafood in restaurants than at home. For Millennials and Gen Zers who are best positioned to increase their consumption, that’s even more true. They are less likely to cook fish and seafood at home and some eat all their fish and seafood meals at restaurants. More than a third are already ordering choices other than shrimp and salmon, the two most popular types, and Millennials and Gen Zers continue to look for a great variety of protein choices.