Christine Blank

Overall U.S. retail seafood inflation dropped in the first quarter of 2023, which benefitted all sectors of the industry but frozen sales, according to new data shared at Elanco’s “Seafood in U.S. Retail” webinar on 2 May.

Total food and beverage inflation spiked 11.3 percent in the first quarter of this year compared versus the first quarter of 2022, but frozen seafood prices rose only 3.9 percent, fresh seafood prices were up

Hissho Sushi, one of the largest distributors of sushi to U.S. retailers and foodservice outlets, recently stepped up its sustainable seafood sourcing policies, including cutting out three species for which it could not find sustainable sources.

The supplier, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.A., with a customer portfolio including Walmart, Safeway, Target, and Sodexo, said with the changes it can now claim 100 percent of the seafood used

United Kingdom food suppliers, retailers, and foodservice providers are requesting more government help as soaring food costs pushed inflation to record levels.

Overall food and drink inflation increased from 18.2 percent in February to 19.2 percent in March, according to new data from the Office of National Statistics.

“This is the highest rate in 45 years since August 1977,” the Food and Drink Federation said.

The largest

Publix and Ahold Delhaize USA are among the U.S. grocery chains featuring new sustainable and traceable seafood products and initiatives during Earth Month.

Two grocery chains operated by Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Ahold Delhaize USA, added sustainable seafood products in the past few months. The retail conglomerate, which operates more than 2,000 food stores and distribution centers, announced last summer it was using

Overall U.S. food inflation and seafood inflation continued to dampen consumer spending power in March, pushing down retail seafood sales. However, private label seafood product sales are on the upswing, along with overall food and restaurant sales.

Fresh seafood prices realized “a small uptick” of 2.6 percent in March 2023 versus March 2022, 210 Analytics Principal Anne-Marie Roerink said, citing Circana data.

“Only fresh

Red Lobster is among several U.S. restaurant chains highlighting shrimp in spring promotions due to the shellfish’s popularity and value proposition. 

Shrimp has remained an affordable, stable-priced item for both retail and foodservice buyers since the start of the pandemic, while prices on other seafood have soared. That has led many restaurants to feature the shellfish on its menus to take advantage of that price

Due to a surplus from last year’s record season, a number of U.S. grocery and club chains are running promotions on Alaskan sockeye salmon.

Costco, Whole Foods, Albertson’s, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and QFC are among the retailers offering sockeye specials, according to the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA) and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).

The sockeye catch from Bristol Bay was 46

Grocery chains across the United States are featuring seafood this week, aiming for a slice of what is projected to be record spending for the Easter holiday.

Americans plan to spend a collective USD 24 billion (EUR 22 billion) on Easter this year, up from USD 20.8 billion (EUR 19.1 billion) in 2022, according to the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights and Analytics’ annual survey. Eighty-one percent of Americans will

Inflation is changing how Americans shop for seafood, executives with Category Partners said during a presentation at Seafood Expo North America, 12-14 March in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

According to the Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S.A.-based strategic insights company, which focuses exclusively on the fresh industries in the retail grocery channel, average retail prices of frozen seafood jumped 6.6 percent for the 13 weeks ending 4 February,

Already facing numerous challenges, U.S. seafood sales are expected to be further dampened by a rollback of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Emergency SNAP funding provided during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic ended in March in most U.S. states.. The expiration of emergency allotments is estimated to be a USD 40 billion (EUR 37 billion) headwind, equating to around a 20 percent decline per beneficiary,