Fishing for Synergy

Food-industry marketers continually look for new ways to tap into emerging niches with the hope that they prove profitable--either over the short term or, if that niche expands and becomes a bona fide trend, over a longer stretch of time.

The issues surrounding contaminants in some types of fish, combined with the increased drive by health professionals to get people to eat more fish, has created a paradox in the public eye. The health threats, like contamination from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs; here's a good primer on the subject: http://ohioline.osu.edu/cd-fact/0201.html) and methylmercury (see http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg.html), are effectively isolating people from the proven health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

One solution to getting more omega-3s into the American diet is fortification. Advances in microencapsulation technology have enabled product designers to boost the nutritional content of an increasing array of products.

However, fish also provide a great source of lean protein, among other health benefits. Overcoming the hurdles associated with getting more omega-3-rich fish, like salmon, onto American plates would kill more than two birds with one stone.

The announcement in March that Wegmans Food Markets, Rochester, NY, and the Bon Appétit Management Company, Palo Alto, CA, had established new criteria for safer, more-sustainable sourcing guidelines for farmed salmon is one step in the right direction to alleviating consumer fears in this area (see http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/5117_FarmedSalmonPolicy2006.pdf for the details on this policy). These guidelines are stricter than any existing criteria or legislation surrounding farmed or wild-caught salmon.

Although the impetus behind this move is likely a desire to sell more salmon to the respective company's customers (for Wegmans, directly to the consumer, and for Bon Appétit, to more foodservice clients), the end result is a safer product that has a consumer-friendly sheen. This move raises the bar for salmon farmers, taps into the emerging sustainable-food movement (read: emerging trend), helps allay consumer fears regarding seafood, and will likely help boost salmon sales for the companies involved. The companies plan to develop similar criteria for other farmed fish.*

Product developers could tap into a similar vein by developing products with sustainably sourced salmon and other seafood raw materials for niche, but increasingly high-profile, markets like those tapped by natural-food supermarket chains like Whole Foods Market, Austin, TX, and Wild Oats Markets, Boulder, CO (and, in the Northeast, Wegmans). Just peruse the frozen-food section of these retailers to survey the options that exist. And traditional supermarkets--even Wal-Mart--are working to get a piece of this action. Products that combine a synergy of such diverse on-trend benefits--health, natural-food-friendly, upscale appeal, calming consumers, environmentally sustainable, etc.--when properly formulated and marketed, are bound to be hot in the coming months and years.

* Here's your free aquaculture lead of the day. If you've never heard about aquaponics, check out these links:

http://www.aquaponicsjournal.com/

http://rps.uvi.edu/AES/Aquaculture/aquaponics.html

http://www.i55mall.com/aquaponics/

This incredibly innovative technology deserves a larger share of our farmed-fish business. It's all about the synergy…