Eat Seafood America! campaigns boosts consumption

Americans are eating more seafood and cooking it more often at home, thanks in part to a nationwide campaign rolled out in early April.

The rapid-response Eat Seafood America! campaign, led by Seafood Nutrition Partnership and the Seafood4Health Coalition, was launched to help Americans stay healthy during the COVID-19 public health crisis as well as help boost the U.S. seafood economy, SNP said in a press release.

The Walton Family Foundation, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, NOAA Fisheries, and the Chilean Salmon Marketing Council funded the initial phase of the campaign.

The organizations’ goal of boosting seafood consumption is working, it said. Consumers who saw the Eat Seafood America! messaging were three times more likely to have increased their seafood consumption in the last two months.

In the first 16 weeks, the integrated consumer outreach campaign earned nearly 300 million potential impressions derived from news articles; videos created by a registered dietitian that aired on news stations across the country and 164,000 views on YouTube; and social media from coalition partners that generated more than 30 million impressions.

As a result, 23 percent of consumers who saw the messaging said they have eaten more seafood in the last two months, 22 percent are learning to cook seafood more at home, and 12 percent plan to add seafood to their meals soon.

Since the campaign is reinforcing the importance of well-managed fisheries as a priority, 36 percent said they are looking for U.S. seafood, 36 percent rely on grocery stores and/or restaurants for sourcing of sustainable seafood, and 27 percent look for certification logos and programs.

The Seafood 4Health Action Coalition of 44 organizations includes new retail partners such as Publix, Hy-Vee, Meijer and Giant Eagle, along with organizations such as the National Fisheries Institute and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

“We are grateful to all of our partners for working together on shared messaging to help drive consumer demand for seafood during this challenging time for the seafood community,” SNP President Linda Cornish said. “We are excited to take the lessons we have learned along with coalition building best practices from the rapid-response phase of the campaign and incorporate it into the recovery phase.”

Earlier this week SNP also announced the speaker lineup for its fourth annual State of the Science Symposium online on 17 September.

Speakers include NOAA Fisheries Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations Paul Doremus; H-E-B Director of Seafood Jason Driskill;  Tom Brenna, professor of pediatrics and chemistry at Dell Medical School and College of Natural Science at the University of Texas; and Phillip Calder, head of the School of Human Development and Health at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom.

Sessions at this year’s symposium include Dietary Guidelines 2020-2025, Seafood Consumption & Neurocognitive Development, and Seafood for Planetary Health and Economic Health.