 Alaska Seafood Newsbrief ASMI E-Newsletter for the Alaska Seafood Industry
June 9 , 2006
In this issue:
Message from the Executive Director My how time flies. We had hoped to get these out about every two weeks but between European Seafood Show, a vacation and some visits to DC I have fallen behind. The first bit of news is that the Governor has reappointed Barry Collier (Peter Pan Seafoods) and Mark Palmer (Ocean Beauty Seafoods) to another term on the ASMI board. Congratulations to both! The European Seafood Show was a great success. Wild Alaska Seafood was extremely popular and all our companies seemed to be doing a brisk business. Interest in Alaska Seafood in the European market is the strongest it has been in a very long time. Most seemed to agree this was the best show ever for Alaska and ASMI. In the additional good news department, the Alaska Legislature approved an $1,000,000 general funds allocation to ASMI. Although less then the Governor had requested ($2.3M) it is the first time in over a decade the Legislature has provided funds to ASMI for marketing. In a very tight budget climate this vote of confidence in marketing is very encouraging. The ASMI board will meet in Anchorage on Thursday, 15 June, at the Captain Cook. The board meeting is open to the public and will start at 8:30 in the morning. If you are in town please stop by. We will also be holding the Great Alaska Seafood Cook-Off that evening (by invitation only) where we will select an Alaska chef to compete in the upcoming Great American Seafood Cook-Off to be held in New Orleans in early August. We will be reviewing expiring ASMI committee member seats over the summer (1/3 of ASMI committee seats expire each year). If you are interested in joining an ASMI committee please let me know and I will submit your name to the Board in the fall when we reappoint or replace those whose terms expire. We will try to get back on a more regular cycle with updates and marketing information as the summer progresses. All the best, Ray |
Kroger's Southern Division Gets Alaska Seafood Training ASMI staff conducted a series of Alaska Seafood training sessions for Kroger, involving 230 stores comprising the retail grocery chain's Southern Division. The training sessions, conducted in Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama, and Knoxville, Tennessee, aquainted the attendees with Alaska seafood issues including harvest practices, fisheries management, attributes of Alaska wild products, species information, seafood quality and purity, handling, product forms. The sessions were attended by seafood counter managers, merchandisers, buyers, and members of the executive team, as well as chefs in training from local culinary programs. The trainings included Cook it Frozen chef demonstrations. Members of the Alaska seafood industry may access more info about ASMI's Alaska Seafood Training session, and a copy of an educational presentation provided to the attendees in the Alaska seafood industry portion of the ASMI website. |
Alaska Seafood Branded on the Menu ASMI is working with the following national account chains to conduct Alaska seafood promotions: McCormick & Schmick’s, Country Kitchen, White Castle, Carl's Jr., Gastronomy, Ivar's, Phillips Seafood Restaurants, Marie Callender's, Pappa's Restaurants, Ruby's Diner, Holland America Cruise Lines, Skippers Restaurants, Nieman Marcus Restaurants, B.F. Saul Company (Hotel Division), and others, as well as with three top broadline foodservice distributors. |
Great Alaska Seafood Cook-Off Five accomplished Alaska chefs will compete in the Great Alaska Seafood Cook-Off for an opportunity to represent Alaska in a national competition. The dishes created by the Alaska chefs will be judged by team of celebrity chefs. The invitation-only event will be held in Anchorage June 15. Participating Alaska chefs are:
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Alaskan Amber and Alaska Seafood are Catch of the Day In partnership with the Alaskan Brewing Company, ASMI launched a Catch of the Day promotion in west coast stores in time to capitalize on Memorial Day grilling and run right along through Father's Day. Colorful large displays feature a brown bear fishing at the top of falls in a river as salmon and bottles of Alaskan Amber leap against the current. It includes a $5 mail-in rebate for purchases of Alaska Seafood totaling $20 or more. Alaskan Brewing offered a special mail-in purchase of Alaskan Amber branded cedar grilling plans. Nantucket Seafood Rub was also a tied in with the promotion. Here's the original artwork for the large display. |
Alaska Seafood Carves Its Niche at Biggest Seafood Show in Europe The Alaska Pavilion at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels in May was bustling. The exhibiting Alaska seafood companies reported robust sales, and ASMI staff and industry members generated productive trade leads. These photos of the ASMI booth, flanked by 12 Alaska industry booths to form the ASMI Alaska Pavilion, are decorated with a theme of wild Alaska seafood harvested by fishermen. Interest in wild Alaska seafood continues to be high. Participating companies reported on-site sales of $45.3 million with an additional expected $143.4 million in sales expected to result from the show in the next 12 months; this is an increase of almost $40 million over 2005 projected sales. 53 trade leads from 21 countries were collected, and despite the increased size of the Alaska pavilion and the meeting area created for Alaska industry to meet with potential customers, the space was barely adequate to accommodate the level of activity. |
International Promotions Around the Globe For full reports on the marketing activities of ASMI's international program, including a listing of the retailers promoting Alaska seafood in Japan, China, and Europe, industry members may review the program updates posted for the next board meeting on the Alaska seafood industry section of our website. |
China Reverse Trade Mission and Media Tour ASMI is leading a group of Chinese seafood trade representatives, media representatives, and dignitaries from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service on a reverse trade mission and media tour to Alaska (Anchorage, Seward and Kodiak) and Seattle, Washington from June 19 – 26. Alaska seafood exports to China in 2005 were valued at about $270 million.
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phone: 1-800-478-2903
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