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Seafood at Retail

FMI Retail Seafood Communications Calendar

The Food Marketing Institute’s seafood council developed a monthly Seafood Calendar to highlight opportunities to educate consumers about seafood and its health benefits. Download a PDF of the calendar.

January

Nutrition
The new year is time for a fresh healthy start. Seafood can help you meet those nutrition goals.

Content & Promotion Ideas

Planning your New Year’s resolution? Seafood is a healthy choice. Start the New Year off on your healthy foot — or gill, as we like to say.

What We’re Celebrating This Month:

Sample Social Media Posts:

  • Start your #NewYear off on the right gill – with #Seafood2xWk that is. This [fill-in recipe from your retailer] is an excellent place to begin – packed with #Omega3s and veggies.
  • #DYK: The Dietary Guidelines recommend eating two servings of seafood each week. Take the #Seafood2xWk pledge and add some #seafood to your plate this year.

February

Heart Health
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the US. Seafood has been proven to decrease heart disease risk and the risk of dying from a heart attack. Love your heart with seafood.

Content & Promotion Ideas

American Heart Month: Seafood is a heart-healthy choice
February is American Heart Month. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, in fact 1 in 4 deaths are caused by heart disease.

This Valentine’s Day, be heart-healthy and choose seafood.

What We’re Celebrating This Month:

Sample Social Media Posts:

March

Seafood Education
One of the biggest barriers to eating more seafood is the confidence in cooking it. Empower your customers to try something new and support them in their path to healthier food purchases.

Content & Promotion Ideas

Focus on informing and educating your consumers about seafood: different types of species (education on non-traditional fish), information about sustainability, etc.

Focus on employee knowledge, for example, farm-raised seafood and safe, sustainable imports

What We’re Celebrating This Month:

  • Lent begins March 6, 2019
  • March Madness NCAA Basketball Tournament
    • Appetizer recipes as well as ready-to-eat or prepared foods at retail: whitefish salad, crab dip, shrimp rings
  • National Frozen Foods Month
  • National Nutrition Month (and March 13, 2019, is National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day)
    • This is a good opportunity to send a note of thanks or a little gift basket to the registered dietitians on your team, whether at the corporate level or in stores. Showing your appreciation goes a long way in them helping support your efforts throughout the year!

Sample Social Media Posts:

  • #FishFriday never looked so good with so many delicious, affordable and easy seafood recipes to enjoy during #Lent: https://www.seafoodnutrition.org/recipes/ [OR link to your retailer’s seafood recipes].

April

Seafood Sustainability
Seafood is a responsible and sustainable choice. Remind your customers of your banner’s stringent sustainable seafood standards and help them enjoy sustainably harvested seafood.

Content & Promotion Ideas

Key messages:

  • The United States is recognized as a global leader in sustainable seafood–both wild-caught and farmed.
  • U.S. fishermen and fish farmers operate under some of the most robust and transparent environmental standards in the world: NOAA Fisheries works to advance and export sustainable management practices internationally, establish and maintain a level playing field for our fishermen and fish farmers, and maintain confidence in U.S. seafood products and access to the global marketplace.
  • The U.S. has taken a leadership role in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and seafood fraud–including through the establishment of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program to identify illegal and/or misrepresented products from entering the U.S. market.

 

What We’re Celebrating This Month:

Hashtags: #SeafoodSustainability

May

New Season, New Catch
So many of our favorite species are coming into season right now. Promote the new catch and discuss seasonality with consumers and employees.

Content & Promotion Ideas
  • Copper River salmon season opens

What We’re Celebrating This Month:

June

Grilling
Take it to the grates! Seafood on the grill is easy, fast, and fun. Try shrimp skewers, tuna steak, or a salmon burger this season.

Content & Promotion Ideas

What We’re Celebrating This Month:

 

July

American Seafood
It’s all things U.S.A in July. Promote domestic seafood: Alaska, Maine Gulf, or seafood local to your area.

Content & Promotion Ideas

Emphasize what local is: in some areas, any US source is local.

What We’re Celebrating this Month:

 

 

August

Back to School
There are big benefits from eating seafood twice a week for kids. Seafood improves memory and learning centers in the brain. Help your little seafoodie enjoy a successful year with fish and shellfish.

Content & Promotion Ideas

Back to school: cooking seafood is simple and quick during this busy time of the year. 25% of the case is ready to eat. Seafood is a convenient dinner choice now that parents are pressed for time.

Hashtags: #LittleSeafoodies

 

September

Family Meals
Magic happens during family mealtime when children and parents gather around the table and engage each other in conversation. Enjoy seafood as part of your family meal. Bring the focus back to the family this month with weeknight dinners at the table.

Content & Promotion Ideas

Tie in with weekend football and other sports activities: soccer, cheer, etc.

What We’re Celebrating this Month:

Hashtags: #FamilyMealsMovement

 

October

National Seafood Month
Reel in the benefits with seafood. This is the time to showcase this protein with a focus on helping consumers enjoy it more. Back to the basics: the how and why – how to cook seafood and its health benefits.

Content & Promotion Ideas

What We’re Celebrating this Month:

Hashtags: #SeafoodMonth

November

Celebrate with Seafood
Make gatherings memorable by featuring delicious seafood, from football parties to big holiday celebrations, we’ve got great recipes for you.

Content & Promotion Ideas

How will you celebrate with seafood? Focus on Thanksgiving and weekend football parties.

Shellfish focus: Clams, oysters, etc.

What We’re Celebrating this Month:

 

December

Entertaining for the Holidays
Whether you’re hosting a holiday gathering or attending a party, make sure seafood is on the menu. Not only is it the healthier choice, but it’s also a delicious choice.

Content & Promotion Ideas

Focus on home entertaining with seafood for holiday parties and New Year’s Eve.

What We’re Celebrating this Month:

    • Feast of the Seven Fishes

 

Image Library (Open Use)

We are bringing the focus back to family.

Magic happens during family mealtime when children and parents gather around the table and engage each other in conversation. Family meals eaten at home have been proven to benefit the health of children, fight obesity and substance abuse, and make families stronger—creating a positive impact on our communities and our nation.

Join us as we work collaboratively with retailers from across the country to bring families back to the table.

Seafood Nutrition Partnership is working with the Food Marketing Institute Foundation to emphasize the importance of family meals, expanding National Family Meals Month throughout the year and into a true movement — the Family Meals Movement.

Store demonstration resources

Delicious quick, simple, no-cook recipes:

Which Fish Is Richest in Omega-3s Chart

​Seafood Nutrition Partnership created a one-page resource highlighting the best choices when it comes to omega-3 in various species.

​Health organizations suggest an intake of at least 250 to 500 milligrams of omega-3 EPA+DHA per day. Find out which seafood has the most omega-3s:

 

For more details on species sustainability, please visit

Facts and Recipes by Species

Clams

Fun fact:
Clams have more vitamin B-12 per serving than any other food — 1,868% of the daily value*, to be exact. B-12 keeps nerves and blood cells healthy, balancing mood and fighting fatigue.

Atlantic surf clams burrow into sandy bottoms on the continental shelf, an environment that is thought to recover quickly after a hydraulic clam dredge passes over it. The bars on commercial clam dredges are spaced several inches apart so they do not collect anything but the targeted surf clams.

Recipes:

Cod / Haddock

Fun facts:
Cod is the leanest protein available, meaning the protein to calorie ratio beats out any other food. That could be why Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson eats it as one of his main protein sources — averaging 253 oz. of cod a week!

Haddock is a popular option for fish and chips (just choose baked to retain the nutrients!) because of its light, slightly sweet flavor. At just 100 calories a serving,* this lean, flaky white fish is full of B vitamins — B-6 and B-12, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and folate — as well as more than 50% DV of immune-boosting selenium.

Recipes:

Crab

Recipes:

Crawfish / Crayfish
Flounder / Perch / Sole

Recipes:

Feature Stories:

Grouper / Snapper / Striped Bass

Fun Facts:
Grouper is low in saturated fat, and a good source of vitamins B6 and B12, phosphorus, potassium, protein, and selenium.

Recipes:

Halibut

Recipes:

Lobster

Fun Facts:
Lobster is a tasty way to get a boost of thyroid-boosting iodine. A 100-gram serving of the crustacean provides 100 micrograms of the essential mineral, or 67% of the recommended daily intake.

Recipes:

Mackerel
Mahi-Mahi

Recipes:

Mussels

Web Features:

Recipes:

Oysters

Fun Facts:
Oysters are pumping iron, well, at least they are providing it in abundance. A serving* has 60% of your daily needs — or if you’re just enjoying an appetizer, it’s about 4% DV for each oyster.

Great for the human health and the environment, too! An adult oyster can filter as much as 50 gallons of water a day, cleaning the waters it lives in.

Recipe ideas: Oyster dressing, grilled oysters, oyster po-boy

Web Features:

Pollock (Wild Alaska)

Fun Facts:
Wild Alaska Pollock is America’s most popular fish you’ve likely never heard of. Known for its versatility, “Snow White” pollock flakes beautifully and offers a lean texture and mild taste – that’s why you find it in family favorites such as Filet-O-Fish, fish sticks and delicious fish tacos. It boasts a whopping 27 grams of protein in just 127 calories, and even though it’s so lean, has more than 500mg of essential omega-3 fatty acids EPA+DHA per serving.*

Recipes:

Rockfish (Pacific)

Feature Stories:

Recipes:

Salmon

Fun Facts:
(Wild) Salmon is helping fight American’s Vitamin D deficiency with 100% of your daily “sunny D.”* Vitamin D is a bone-strengthening vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods.

Recipes:

Sardines

Fun Facts:
Sardines are considered to be one of the healthiest foods on the planet. They boast 43% of your daily value of calcium, because of the tiny, edible bones, plus another whopping 169% of your daily vitamin B-12, 85% of selenium and 56% of phosphorus.*

Recipes:

Scallops

Recipes:

Sea Bass / Barramundi / Branzino
Shrimp

Fun facts:
Shrimp is a lean protein and a great source of selenium (80% DV) and iodine (30%), which are both helpful in thyroid support, and a healthy thyroid supports a healthy metabolism.*

May 10 is National Shrimp Day. Shrimp is the most popular seafood options in America for many reasons – it’s versatile, easy to cook, tasty, and a good source of lean protein. In fact, in 3 ounces of shrimp you can find 20 grams of protein. Shrimp is also packed with vitamin B12, choline, and selenium, which helps support heart health, boost immunity and flight inflammation.

Blog: Storing Shrimp Properly

Recipes:

Swordfish

Fun Facts:
Swordfish is naturally packed with Vitamin D, a bone-strengthening vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods.

Recipes:

Tilapia

Recipes:

Trout / Steelhead / Arctic Char

Recipes:

 

Arctic char is a cold water fish in the same family as salmon, and similar in terms of delicious, fattier flesh. Char, however, is a more delicate texture and clean, mild flavor similar to trout. The higher fat content in Arctic char, which translates to more than 1 gram of heart-healthy omega-3s per serving, makes it well-suited for dry-heat cooking. Mostly imported from Iceland and Canada, Arctic char is considered a “best choice” in terms of sustainability.

Tuna (Fresh)

Recipes:

* Note: Fun Facts statistics are based on 4 oz. servings, cooked, dry heat. Data from USDA Nutrient Database.