North Coast Seafoods’ Post

Transcript

So we have an opportunity to hang out with North Coast Seafoods this week. First day that we got here, they brought us into their kitchen, their chef Andrew, who was so gracious, and he made us these kelp meatballs. And I have to say, I was skeptical at first, but they were so good. And I think it's really important to remember that kelp and seaweed mariculture. That's seafood. Umm, to me, that's just another seafood option for consumers to enjoy. And if somebody's going to be able to enjoy kelp, we're able to open up a new audience of people who may eventually then step into seafood proteins. So I think it's really, really cool to start seeing other seafood options kind of being explored and discovered because that means that our sector can just continue to grow. And you mentioned reaching new audiences because that's exactly what the kelp. Meatballs are doing, and one of the specific audiences that they're trying to reach with the help meatballs is kids. Yeah. And they have a great program in a handful of schools here in the Boston area where kids are excited to eat seafood because they've designed these kelp meatballs in a way that speaks to kids. That marketing directly to kids or marketing to moms, the decision makers, We haven't been seeing a lot of that, but that's another theme that I've been seeing a lot. You know, it started with North Coast and they help meatballs. But I feel like we've talked to a lot of people on the floor this week who are also talking about we need to do a better job of talking to kids. Yeah. And that's that next generation of seafood eaters, right? Like, we've been talking to you about like, OK, who are our target audiences? And what does that look like for us now? But what does that look like 10 years from now and 20 years from now? And really building, you know, a loyal seafood eater base. And that does start with our kids. You know, I've got a 3 1/2 year old at home, and she loves meatballs. And I guarantee I could get her to. Kelp meatballs, because in the form that it's in, she's recognizing that and she recognizes that she enjoys eating that, and that's really what matters. Kids, even at the youngest age, they might not be grabbing for salmon at 3 1/2 years old, but if they can go to a food that they recognize as something that they've already tried and loved, that's a great place to start.