Albertsons relaunches Waterfront Bistro seafood brand

Albertsons Cos. has unveiled an updated Waterfront Bistro seafood brand to give shoppers a sustainable, private-brand seafood option.

Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons said yesterday that the Waterfront Bistro brand now sports a new, modernized logo plus updated packaging. The grocer also has kicked off a multimedia marketing campaign dubbed “Bring the Bistro Home,” which includes digital, in-store, e-commerce and creative components.  

Waterfront Bistro is sold at Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s, Tom Thumb and other Albertsons Cos. supermarkets. The new packaging features the Responsible Choice logo, signifying that 100% of seafood items meet the retailer’s Responsible Seafood Policy.  

Waterfront Bistro's product offerings range from frozen fin fish and shrimp to heat-and-serve meals and jarred sauces.

Also, to further industry best practices in traceability, Waterfront Bistro seafood is third-party audited to ensure that all fish, shrimp or shellfish has been raised or caught in ways that protect future supplies and nurture ecosystems, Albertsons said.  

“We’re excited to reintroduce Waterfront Bistro as an elevated and responsible option for our shoppers,” commented Katie Ceclan, vice president of own brands at Albertsons Cos. “With Waterfront Bistro, we’re making it easier than ever to access affordable, high-quality and responsibly sourced seafood ingredients so our customers can create restaurant-worthy dishes in the comfort of their own kitchens and feel good about the ingredients they’re using.” 

Related:Seafood sustainability top of mind for shoppers

The Waterfront Bistro brand was launched in 2009, marketed as a convenient, at-home version of a high-quality seafood bistro experience. Product options range from frozen fin fish and shrimp to heat-and-serve meals and jarred sauces.

New research by GlobeScan for the Marine Stewardship Council shows that shoppers are changing their buying habits to support ocean health.

With the brand relaunch, Albertsons also is serving up recipe solutions online and in its Meal Plans tool, which offers recipe suggestions based on dietary preferences, including pescatarian. Many Waterfront Bistro items offer recipe suggestions on the backside of the package, and customers can scan the QR code for meal ideas, from creamy shrimp scampi to tilapia Milanese, plus seafood tips, tricks and serving hacks, the company said. 

Albertsons’ relaunch of Waterfront Bistro comes as a rising number of consumers are making dietary and product choices, especially in categories like seafood, based on ecological and sustainability guidelines.

A study released last week by the noprofit Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a widely used sustainable seafood eco-label, found that 31% of global respondents who changed their diet in the past two years did so for a range of environmental reasons, including to eat more sustainably sourced food (17%), to reduce climate change impact (11%) and to protect the oceans (9%). Also, 62% of respondents said their seafood choices can make a difference in the health of the oceans.

Related:Albertsons achieves sustainable sourcing for own-brand seafood