Saving Seafood

Consumers Remain Skeptical but Hopeful as States Begin to Reopen

May 7, 2020 — Now that states are beginning to reopen non-essential businesses, consumers are once again expressing feelings of excitement, fear, and uncertainty. Often, these feelings are informed by their view on how the health crisis compares to the economic one. According to a recent report by Datassential, restaurants can still find ways to address that tension through service and outreach that emphasizes community building.

The data shows that concern about the coronavirus has plateaued. With cases still growing in some locations and no major breakthroughs have been made on the testing front, almost 60% of Americans are “very worried” about their own personal health. However, this percentage has remained about steady for the past three weeks, with a decrease of 7% from the beginning of April.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Consumption trends transforming in “uncertain times”

May 1, 2020 — In the days and weeks ahead, much of the United States will begin incrementally easing back isolation restrictions enacted to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Now that federal stay-at-home mandates have been lifted, as many as 31 states are moving forward with plans to partially reopen, CNN reported on 30 April. Restaurants in Georgia and Tennessee have already begun to open their doors to patrons for dine-in service, mostly at limited-capacity, with other states aiming to follow suit – some more cautiously than others – as the summer season approaches.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

US foodservice industry upended by public response to COVID-19

March 13, 2020 — U.S. restaurant chains and other foodservice outlets are struggling to cope with rapidly changing dining habits of Americans fearing exposure to COVID-19.

A new Datassential survey released on 12 March found 89 percent of Americans feel more comfortable eating food from home or grocery stores, while only 11 percent feel comfortable eating food from restaurants or away from home. Fifty-four percent said they would eat at restaurants less frequently due to COVID-19.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

“Humane aquaculture” could boost US seafood consumption, study finds

September 27, 2018 — Humane production practices could have a huge impact on market expansion for farmed seafood in the United States, according to a new study from surveying firms Changing Tastes and Datassential.

Previewed this week in Ecuador at the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s annual GOAL conference, the study – titled “Humane Aquaculture: Opportunities on the Plate” – assesses the influence that humane production practices have on both American consumers and foodservice purchasers when it comes to buying seafood.

Half of the American consumers and foodservice purchasing decision-makers polled for the study said they were more likely to buy fish and seafood that is humanely harvested, with more than half of the survey participants in both groups also subscribing to the belief that humanely produced fish and seafood is likely to be higher quality, taste better, and have better texture.

“Humane production practices may increase the attractiveness of farmed fish and seafood both to U.S. consumers and to the businesses that purchase it and offer or serve it to them,” said Arlin Wasserman of Changing Tastes in a statement detailing the study’s findings. “Increasing the attractiveness of farmed fish and seafood can create meaningful opportunities over the next several years.”

Farmed seafood, if positioned right, could become a viable replacement for beef on many American consumers’ plates, especially if an earlier study conducted by Changing Tastes pans out, the research firms said. According to that study, U.S. consumers were on-trend to reduce their beef consumption by 20 percent by 2025.

Several recent studies from Datassential also show that more Americans are planning on reducing the amount of time red meat hits their plates.

Read the full story at Seafood Source