Newsletter Home     Industry Bite     Wild Watch     Featured Articles     Recipe of the Month     Order Materials The Future of Seafood Several recent reports that examine the seafood industry from different angles show a profitable past and suggest a bright future for seafood sales. The March 2006 issue of Meat and Seafood Merchandising offers facts that prove the selling power of seafood while Food Systems Insider offers a deeper look into the reasons for the rise in seafood consumption. In the "Benchmarks" section of their magazine, Meat and Seafood Merchandising quotes the Ascribe Newswire, stating "Three million tons more seafood will be demanded by the year 2020 because of population growth and other factors." Meat and Seafood Merchandising also offers facts about current seafood sales in their "Annual Seafood Review," which reveals that "Total 2005 seafood department sales per week per store averaged $4,993, up 7.4 percent from 2004." The Review breaks seafood sales down by category, showing that crustacean sales per week per store have risen the most in the past year, with fresh fish in second and salmon leading the fresh fish category, capturing 37.4 percent of the dollar share. In an article titled "Like Fine Wine," Food Systems Insider addresses this rise in seafood consumption and predicted future increases as an effect of our aging society. Food Systems Insider states that aging baby boomers and longer life expectancies are contributing to significantly altered age demographics in the United States, with a large increase of the percent of the population over 50. Thus, "Future dietary and food choices by an aging population will affect the organizational structure of the food industry." The implications of the increased elder population will be significant for future seafood sales. "This age group has more spending power than any other age group in history," according to Pat Conroy, Vice Chairman and National Managing Principal at Deloitte & Touche USA. This spending power, it is predicted, will go to healthier and better quality food. As Biing-Hwan Lin, a senior economist for the FDA put it, "We are getting old, but we are getting wealthier and we are getting better educated." For these reasons, "researchers predict that per capita consumption of fish, poultry, eggs and yogurt will rise, whereas consumption of beef, pork, milk and cheese will fall." Meat & Seafood Merchandising Features ASMI's New Point-of-Sale In the "Buyer's Market" section of the March 2006 issue of Meat & Seafood Merchandising, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute's new theatre-sized posters are highlighted. The articles notes, "The posters are designed to increase sales of wild Alaska salmon, halibut, cod, king crab and black cod. A map and companion POS are also available." Click here to check out the new materials! ASMI Exhibits at Nashville and Novi Southern Women's Shows ASMI will exhibit at the Nashville Southern Women's Show April 20-23rd and at the Novi Southern Women's Show in Detroit May 4-7th. Both shows will include chef demonstrations of "COOK IT FROZEN!" techniques and Alaska canned/pouched salmon preparation. These shows are part of the Women's Show series, which features exhibits and demonstrations on fashion, food, health, business, home, and travel. Show demographic research finds "food/cooking" as the highest ranking interest among show attendees, so this is an excellent venue for ASMI to feature Alaska Seafood and "COOK IT FROZEN!" techniques. "SuperFoods HealthStyle: Proven Strategies for Lifelong Health," by Dr. Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews, Speaks Highly of Alaska Salmon Dr. Steven Pratt and Kathy Matthews follow up the success of their bestseller SuperFoods Rx with a new book this year, SuperFoods HealthStyle: Proven Strategies for Lifelong Health. The authors devote seven pages to wild salmon, one of the original "SuperFoods." The chapter praises wild salmon, explaining that omega-3s found in salmon help prevent heart disease, promote blood flow and good mental health, lessen hostility and could help prevent Alzheimer's disease in consumers who eat the recommended two to four servings per week. The authors offer easy cooking tips to those who may be daunted by the idea of preparing seafood four times a week and also sway the fears of consumers who worry about mercury in fish, suggesting they choose wild over farmed fish: "In my opinion the best salmon is Pacific wild Alaska salmon, whether it's fresh, frozen or canned." Pratt and Matthews laud canned salmon for its high calcium content: "Canned wild Alaska salmon is an excellent choice" and suggest Alaska Halibut as a "sidekick" to Alaska Salmon. Wild Alaska Salmon is named throughout the book in other chapters such as "How to Avoid Alzheimer's Disease." HealthStyle is geared towards those looking to improve their health and includes exercise and daily living tips as well as food and nutrition information. E-Newsletter Sign Up! If you haven't already, sign up for the Retail E-newsletter! And don't forget to make sure that your seafood industry colleagues and employees, both at headquarters and in the stores, catch the latest news as well! Click here to sign up