Fish options such as ahi, cod, grouper and more are currently appearing on 35% of breakfast menus, and shellfish is present on 27%. This is a 44% and 40% increase, respectively, over the past decade.
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Senior Product Manager at Datassential Jackie Rodriguez said that retailers could take cues from those increases and pair fish and shellfish with other products that they already feature. “Fresh crab cakes can be promoted as a convenient base for eggs Benedict and merchandised next to English muffins and hollandaise sauce mix,” said Rodriguez, giving an example for retailers who wish to capitalize on this budding trend.
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While breakfast is gaining traction, it is still significantly behind the dinner and lunch dayparts. Sixty-two percent of those surveyed said that they last ate seafood during dinner and 31% said their most recent fish or shellfish inclusion came during lunch. Only 3% of subjects said that their most recent seafood meal came during the breakfast daypart. Four percent of polled consumers had most recently turned to seafood options when choosing a snack.
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Keep an eye on poke bowls. They are currently available at 6% of operators that serve fish, and 27% of consumers are familiar with them. Ten percent responded that they “love” these raw fish bowls. “This versatile dish is catching on after poke-focused urban fast casuals introduced the nation to this traditional Hawaiian dish,” the report states.
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Seafood is most likely to appear on retail store menu boards during lunch, with 93% of stores selling seafood during this daypart. Sixty-five percent of retail stores offer seafood during the mid-afternoon.
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Consumers are inclined to eat seafood often. Fifty-three percent of respondents reported eating it within the past week and 14% had consumed it within the last day. Only 20% had gone longer than two weeks without seafood in their diets.
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Salmon and tuna were found to be the two most “loved” fish selections among those surveyed, with 30% and 27% of respondents expressing “love” for each selection, respectively. Red snapper, however, was not as popular. The species earned a “love” rating from only 10% of polled consumers.
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Two subcategories of both salmon and tuna also fared well. Ahi tuna and sockeye salmon each earned a “love” rating from 13% of consumers. This placed both sub-types higher than halibut (12%), trout (12%), bass (12%), mahi-mahi (11%), perch (11%) and the aforementioned red snapper (10%).