{"id":7467,"date":"2017-03-01T16:50:00","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T21:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=7467"},"modified":"2024-08-20T14:13:21","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:13:21","slug":"developing-new-seafood-products","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/developing-new-seafood-products\/","title":{"rendered":"DEVELOPING NEW SEAFOOD PRODUCTS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Americans lead busy, active lives and have little time or desire to cook meals at home. We seek new flavors, textures and unique cuisines, and want options that are convenient to prepare and consume almost anywhere. Fresh, transportable meals featuring minimally processed ingredients, handcrafted quality and bold flavors characterize the most successful pre-prepared meals of the past few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The convenience of purchasing and preparing food is important to consumers across all demographics. According to the data company Food Genius, nearly 80 percent of Americans do not know what we want for dinner by 4 p.m. that same day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People are too time-starved to cook, yet we want food that is fresher and healthier than a typical fast-food meal, with unique flavors and more protein. Market analysts expect more consumers to use online subscription services that sell prepared meals, especially those offering the convenience of home delivery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seafood meets the expectations of health-conscious foodies. Marine species tend to be high in protein and low in fat. Nearly two-thirds of consumers believe protein aids weight loss and 33 percent think it boosts metabolism. Omega-3 fatty acids are among the top heart-healthy ingredients, and 44 percent of adults prefer obtaining omega-3s through food rather than supplements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, locally sourced ingredients are among the desirable characteristics consumers seek when evaluating their food choices. People are seeking niche brands from local and regional businesses over national and multinational food companies. This offers a number of commercial opportunities for small-scale seafood manufacturers in North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"seafood
Barry Nash introduced natural ingredients that would extend the shelf life of shrimp salad developed by Pamlico Packing. Photo by Scott Taylor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

North Carolina Sea Grant<\/a> has helped many coastal food businesses meet growing consumer demand for seafood requiring little or no in-home preparation. But developing new products is a costly, time-consuming venture. Large food companies have entire departments dedicated to developing and marketing new foods. Small, family-owned food businesses have much more limited financial and human capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2001, Sea Grant has led collaborations across state agencies to aid 14 North Carolina companies in developing, manufacturing and marketing nearly 60 new products, such as crab cakes, seafood dips and smoked seafood, for retail and wholesale. We work with our industry partners to perform qualitative and quantitative market research \u2014 consumer interviews and surveys, respectively \u2014 to better understand what people need and expect from North Carolina seafood products and to enable businesses to offer items buyers actually want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National market research shows consumers who seek specialty, freshly prepared foods can generally be categorized into those who:<\/p>\n\n\n\n