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ALASKASEAFOOD.ORG | WILDALASKASEAFOOD.COM

Thank you, from all of us, for your shared commitment to increasing the value of Alaska's seafood resource. We look forward to continuing our mission on behalf of our state and our industry in the next year!

Thank you for joining ASMI for the 2020 All Hands on Deck Virtual Conference. Recordings and materials from of all committee and board meetings can be found found at www.alaskaseafood.org/all-hands-on-deck/.

The USDA has extended its deadline for its Seafood Trade Relief Program. Fishermen can now sign up for the program through Jan. 15, 2021. More details can be found online.

For all technical or seafood quality questions, please contact ASMI Seafood Technical Coordinator, John Burrows.

ASMI produced a new nutrition one-page infographic highlighting the positive health impacts offered by Alaska seafood to mothers and infants. The document is a collaboration produced with registered dietitian Kari Natwick as a way to streamline and visually illustrate the findings of her white paper on the same subject. The infographic is available online.

ASMI Communications Director Ashley Heimbigner joined Alaska Sea Grant on Dec. 4 as a presenter for their fall course, “Introduction to Starting and Operating a Seafood Direct Marketing Business.” As a part of the multi-session course, Heimbigner provided a market update for Alaska seafood, discussed consumer trends and provided an overview of ASMI resources available to both established and new direct marketers.

To address food security issues facing patients discharged from the hospital, PeaceHealth Ketchikan launched program called Nourishment to Go with support from ASMI. This “food pharmacy” provides patients a three-day supply of high protein foods, including high quality Alaska seafood donated by Trident Seafoods and OceansAlaska. ASMI supported the effort by providing educational nutrition information, canned Alaska salmon and recipe materials to extend the benefits of the Nourishment to Go program.

Harris Teeter featured Alaska sockeye salmon and halibut at 235 stores, while QFC promoted Alaska salmon, Pacific cod and halibut at 64 of its stores throughout October. Harris Teeter saw a 68% year-over-year sales lift, and the QFC promotion resulted in a 12% tonnage increase. Each retail chain utilized ASMI point of sale materials, and sales managers gave positive feedback on the promotions and continued ASMI partnership.

ASMI attended the virtual International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC) To-Go conference on Oct. 27th. The daylong agenda included a panel discussion on industry trends, where Chef Vitaly Paley participated on behalf of ASMI. Paley spoke about the quality of frozen Alaska seafood, and shared his Alaska sablefish recipe featured on the rotating menu at Paley's Place.

One-on-one meetings with editors continued for an additional four days, where ASMI continued building relationships with foodservice and retail media, further driving coverage for Alaska seafood among influential trade audiences.

In preparation for this year’s virtual Flavor Experience conference, ASMI created a digital recipe booklet for attendees. The booklet features a selection of the program’s most recently developed recipes from chefs Neal Fraser, Rachel Yang, Vitaly Paley and Jeremy Bringardner. As an interactive PDF, attendees were able to easily save the booklet and browse at any time or print at home. The booklet also contains a QR code which links to additional recipes, cooking tips and nutritional information on the ASMI website.

The integrated program launched a new mealtime tradition and positioned Alaska seafood as a menu staple as people were cooking more at home and adapting to changing foodservice and retail landscapes. The efforts reached existing and new seafood eaters through targeted owned content across Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest with an efficient cost-per-click, an influencer program with high-caliber partners which drove an engagement rate twice as high as the industry standard, and strategic press outreach that earned a 30% YOY increase in media impressions.

ASMI South America partnered with the Brazilian Nutrition group "NutriLider" to host a nutrition- and gastronomy-focused seminar and dinner for hospital executives and their culinary teams. Eighteen nutritionists and chefs participated, representing leading Brazilian hospitals which had expressed interest in including more seafood and sustainable items on their menus.

The seminar highlighted the nutritional benefits and applications of Alaska Seafood, and guests enjoyed a menu that could be implemented at hospitals, featuring Alaska pollock, pacific cod, keta and sockeye salmon. Technical information was presented to the the participants, including product costs and recommended diets for specific treatments.

ASMI South America is planning future trainings with the hospital groups and will be sending samples for the hospital culinary teams to experiment and develop menu items.

ASMI Japan created a cooking video with celebrity chef Koh Kentetsu. Koh Kentetsu has over 500,000 followers on YouTube and announced the launch of the video on his official Instagram account, which has 110,000 followers. In the video, the chef prepares stir fried Alaska pacific cod with potatoes and fluffy eggs. Feedback from commenters has been overwhelmingly positive, with clear interest in the Alaska seafood displayed. Some examples include: "I want to know more Pacific cod recipes!" and "All Alaska fish is wild? I didn't know." The video can be viewed on YouTube here. 

ASMI Southeast Asia sponsored the Gourmet Foodie Fest from Oct. 28 - Nov. 1, 2020 at Central Eastville Bangkok, a new suburban shopping center with over 100 restaurants and a leading supermarket. More than 7,500 consumers attended the 5-day event. FAS Thailand staff joined the opening ceremony, along with 22 media representatives and social media influencers with over 5 million online followers. Selected chefs held cooking demonstrations of Alaska seafood and provided samples to consumers during the promotion. Four restaurants also provided sample dishes featuring Alaska seafood. Three local importers-distributors of Alaska seafood held booths at the event to promote and sell Alaska pollock, sablefish, pink and sockeye salmon, yellowfin sole, Pacific ocean perch and premium surimi made from Alaska pollock.

Online buying has seen considerable growth in China over the years, with multiple drivers including the global pandemic, big data and smart phones. One of the more popular trends has been group buying, launched by Pinduoduo. Similar in concept to Groupon, Pinduoduo utilizes the latest consumer data and algorithms to combine a buying feature with a social feature, allowing consumers to share purchases and recommendations with friends and family.

ASMI China collaborated with the platform and partnered with three online stores to promote Alaska pacific cod, sablefish, sea cucumber, yellowfin sole, Alaska pollock and thorny head from Nov. 2 - Dec. 2. The three online stores, Fishing Beauty (Meiyufang), Healthy World, and Dahuangxiansheng are retailers ASMI has worked with in the past. As important players involved with Alaska seafood, this was a great opportunity to continue strengthening relationships.

Oct. 27 & 29: ASMI China held marketing events and chef training seminars in Dalian and Shenzen, respectively. In each city, a trade gathering was held in the morning while a chef training seminar was held in the afternoon. About 50 seafood traders and 30 media were in attendance at the multidimensional trade gatherings, presentations and trainings.

Nov. 3 & 4: ASMI China held trade gatherings in Nanjing and Ningbo repectively, with over 30 seafood traders. ASMI gave presentations on Alaska seafood while high end executive chefs provided cooking demonstrations of wild Alaska pollock, yellowfin sole, Pacific Ocean perch and sea cucumber.

Nov. 2 - 6: ASMI China held a chef training school in Shenyang with Omick Western Food Education Institution to target future chefs. Over 300 students attended lectures on Alaska seafood, and acquired hands on experience with wild Alaska pollock, pacific cod and yellowfin sole.

Nov. 30 - Dec. 4: ASMI China held a training school program with the Guangdong Trade Vocational Technical School to expose and educate aspiring chefs about Alaska seafood. More than 250 chefs took part in the training which featured both classroom lectures on Alaska seafood and hands on kitchen time to work with pollock and yellowfin sole. Each student also received a set of Alaska seafood materials, including fact sheets and buyer guides, for reference.

Find out more about ASMI activities at home and abroad in our interactive map.