Shrimp industry mulling global collaborative marketing campaign

To combat falling global demand for shrimp, prominent industry players are pushing for a collaborative marketing campaign to boost consumption.

The strategies and logistics of establishing a unified global marketing campaign were at the forefront of discussions at the 2023 Shrimp Summit, held by The Center for Responsible Seafood in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City from 24 to 26 July.

A 26 July panel brought together representatives from the shrimp industries in the U.S., India, Ecuador, Thailand, Vietnam, and Peru.

Allan Cooper, the business and value creation director at Vitapro, a South America-based feed producer, highlighted the substantial growth in the global shrimp production in recent years, especially in  Ecuador. But due to a variety of factors, primarily inflation, the industry is confronting a downturn in demand that is adversely affecting all stakeholders along the shrimp value chain, from farmers to producers and retailers. 

“We're looking at cycles that come back and forth. And some people say producing shrimp, being a part of the shrimp industry, is like riding a roller coaster, in a really, really uncertain environment. But how can we prevent the cycle?” Cooper said.

The industry needs to “make the people that eat shrimp eat more” and “incentivize newcomers to try shrimp” by launching a unified global marketing campaign, Cooper said.

Cooper noted historical successes of joint marketing efforts in various sectors, such as avocados, eggs, milk, and beef, as potential models the shrimp industry can learn from.

Citing data from independent studies from various universities, he said joint marketing campaigns have actually translated into profits for businesses in the respective industries.  Demand-enhancing campaigns aimed at encouraging milk consumption in the U.S. resulted a producer profit increase of USD 4.78 (EUR 4.35) for each dollar invested. Similarly, the "Beef. It's What's for Dinner" campaign led to the rise of between 14 and 15 percent in the per capita beef consumption in the U.S. since its launch in 1992 and generated nearly USD 12.00 (EUR 10.90) in profit for every extra dollar that the producers invested between 2014 and 2018. Successful efforts to enhance egg consumption in Australia have brought about good results, with per capita consumption rising by 14 eggs per annum following the campaign. Similarly, per capita avocado consumption in the U.S. in 2020 rose to 7.5 pounds, from 2 pounds in 2002, when Hass Avocado Board began its promotional campaign.

“No, it's not easy. No, it's not fast. But we see what these types of programs can bring to the different industries. And it's definitely something that with the panel, we have like thought of considering of how this could apply for the shrimp industry,” Cooper said. “Is the global shrimp industry ready to expand the market?”

Sandro Coglitore , the general manager of Ecuadorian shrimp producer Omarsa, said …

Photo by Toan Dao/SeafoodSource