Defying national trends, Fresh Thyme’s crab, salmon sales soar

U.S. seafood sales continued to drop in September, but one grocery chain has defied these trends and is realizing high sales – particularly on crab and farmed salmon – with its new National Seafood Month promotions expected to further hike profits across its fresh and frozen seafood departments.

Downers Grove, Illinois, U.S.A.-based Fresh Thyme Market, which operates 70 stores across the U.S. Midwest region, saw an impressive 390 percent increase in crab sales value in September, which included purchases of snow crab clusters, jumbo king crab legs, colossal king crab legs, and crab claws. Volume, meanwhile, shot up 774 percent, Fresh Thyme Meat and Seafood Sales, Merchandising, Marketing, and Procurement Lead Jason Resner told SeafoodSource.

One strategy that paid off for the company was that Fresh Thyme partnered with major U.S. crab importer Direct Source, based in Bellevue, Washington, U.S.A., as soon as snow crab prices dropped earlier this year to lock in a favorable price.

“Those cost-benefit gaps are not the same now, but at the beginning of the season, they were notable … we think we are the only retailer that capitalized on it,” Resner said.

Thanks to the partnership with Direct Source, the retailer has been regularly promoting snow crab clusters for between USD 6.99 (EUR 6.64) and USD 7.99 (EUR 7.58) per pound, king crab arm and claw deals for USD 17.99 (EUR 17.08) per pound, and colossal king crab legs at USD 34.99 (EUR 33.22) per pound.

Fresh Thyme’s salmon sales are also running contrary to national trends. National fresh salmon sales dropped 4.2 percent in September, but Fresh Thyme’s sales of ... 

Photo courtesy of Fresh Thyme Market