Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing

Division of Marketing and Development
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

2007-2008 Overview of Activities

The Department’s Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing provides marketing strategies for Florida’s seafood and aquaculture industry to facilitate buying, selling, and the promotion of Florida seafood and aquaculture products. The mission of the bureau is to market Florida products to consumers and help the seafood and aquaculture industry increase sales.

The bureau produces educational materials for consumers. It provides promotional materials, supplier directories, and training on handling and storage safety for retailers, foodservice professionals, wholesalers, and processors. The bureau provides educational and technical support and training for fishermen, aquaculturists, retailers, and foodservice professionals. It serves as a liaison for aquaculturists, commercial fishermen, government agencies, and the consuming public by utilizing the expertise of industry advisory councils. The bureau provides public relations to the media on behalf of the seafood, aquaculture, and marine life industries. It also provides marketing services, including electronic marketing programs identifying U.S. and international buying and selling operations. It assists and promotes Florida industry through the distribution of recipe brochures and educational materials to visitors at seafood festivals throughout the state and at industry trade events, domestically and abroad.

The Department is committed to serving seafood and aquaculture audiences with integrity and professionalism to increase the industry’s sales and profits through global marketing and education. Activities of the Bureau of Aquaculture and Seafood Marketing generated 126 million consumer impressions nationwide with a sales value of approximately $21.9 million.

Chief among the audiences served by the Department are:

Consumers seeking information to wisely purchase, prepare, serve, and store seafood and aquaculture products. The Department reaches consumers by means of printed materials, news releases, and public service announcements through television, radio, print media, and appearances at regional seafood festivals.

Producers (fishermen, processors, and aquaculturists) turn to the Department for technical, educational, marketing, and promotional assistance, as well as safety, handling, and storage information. Florida fishermen and processors took advantage of marketing and promotional opportunities to sell their products. The Department’s marketing and promotional programs use the “Fresh from Florida” logo and are backed by a multilevel campaign creating consumer awareness and interest and fueling demand for Florida products.

Consumer Education

TV Consumer Shows

Bi-weekly guest appearance at Tallahassee’s CBS affiliate included staff preparing Florida seafood and other agricultural products. These culinary segments featured recipes touting the many health benefits of seafood and the ease of cooking fresh Florida seafood at home.

Seafood and Aquaculture Festivals

The bureau also exhibited and distributed recipe brochures at the Apalachicola Seafood Festival (16,000 attendees); Clamerica Festival (5,000 attendees) in Cedar Key; Panacea Blue Crab Festival (6,000 attendees); and the Mighty Mullet Festival (2,500 attendees) in Panacea.

Oyster Education

As part of the three-state partnership (Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi) and with grant funding from the Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumers Services, Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing participated in several projects designed to educate the public about post-harvest processed oysters (PHP). The bureau assisted with the development of a program to target selected blogs with a PHP message. Through the contracting of a public relations firm specializing in interactive marketing and using an internet strategy, specifically designed messages were developed for posting on weblogs (blogs) that targeted specific audiences (restaurant associations, nurses associations, medical associations, etc.). Bureau staff also presented at the first annual University of Florida Oyster School held in Apalachicola. The attendees came from industry, government and buyers from statewide and national companies, for example, SYSCO, Publix, and Outback Steakhouse. Presentations to the attendees ranged from the science of testing oysters to the bureau’s presentation on marketing PHP product. All presentations were designed to educate on PHP.

Other Events

Pike Place Market Street Festival, Exotic Alligator Meat Promotion, Seattle, Washington: The excitement created by the Exotic Florida Alligator booth sponsored by the Florida Alligator Marketing Committee (FAME) and coordinated by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing was tremendous. Attendees not only were able to sample the prepared meat but they were also able to talk to authentic Florida alligator farmers. The Market Foundation organizers estimated that there were 85,000 to 100,000 attendees at the festival. Florida’s Executive Chef Justin Timineri prepared alligator cubes, ground alligator sausage and alligator ribs in a variety of ways during the two-day event. The overall reaction after tasting was extremely positive.

Pier 39, Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco, California: Pier 39 was buzzing with excitement the third weekend of June as visitors sampled Florida alligator meat cooked by the Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing. Sampling took place at the Exotic Florida Alligator tent sponsored by The Florida Alligator Marketing and Education Committee (FAME) and coordinated bureau. As visitors sampled the meat prepared by Chef Justin Timineri they also talked to a bona fide Florida alligator farmer. The Exotic Florida Alligator booth was a 10x10-foot tent set up at the entrance to Pier 39. An attention getting banner was on the front of the tent that was decorated with tables adorned with black “Fresh from Florida” table cloths.

Aquaculture America 2008: Florida was the host state for Aquaculture America 2008 in February at Lake Buena Vista in Orlando. Bureau staff presented a marketing workshop for national aquaculture producers on how to reach the retail, wholesale and restaurant buyers with information on their products. The workshop, “Key Seafood Buyers Tell All,” was a question-and-answer session with panel members representing the large retailer, wholesaler, restaurants and chefs. Aquaculture America is sponsored yearly by World Aquaculture Society (WAS), an international non-profit society founded in 1970 with over 3,000 members in 94 countries. Its primary focus is to improve communication and information exchange within the diverse global aquaculture community.

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s “Cooking for Solutions 2008”: Chef Michelle Bernstein of Michy’s in Miami prepared her signature “Wild Florida Shrimp” recipe at the seventh Cooking for Solutions event in May. Sponsored by the Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing, Chef Bernstein was one of seven culinary greats selected to serve as an ambassador for sustainable dining. Bureau staff also gave a presentation about Florida farm-raised clams to attendees, chefs and media representatives backed up by a chef preparing clam samples.

Tampa Bay Wine and Food Fest: The Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing teamed with the Ocean Conservancy to promote Florida seafood and sustainable fishery education at the Tampa Bay Wine and Food Festival’s “Unleash Your Palate” event in May. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Executive Chef Justin Timineri and Kathryn Novak of Ocean Conservancy hosted a cooking demonstration and information session on Florida red snapper sustainability to restaurant owners, chefs and food service attendees. Chef Justin also prepared “Wild Florida Shrimp” samples at the Ocean conservancy booth throughout the day.

Florida Farm-raised Clam Samplings at Sweetbay Supermarkets: The bureau sponsored samplings of Florida farm-raised clams at 30 top-producing Sweetbay Supermarkets from Ocala to Naples in May. Chefs prepared clam scampi and handed out bureau clam brochures to customers. Sweetbay reported an increase in sales over prior month’s sales. Florida farm-raised clams are a regular item in Sweetbay seafood cases but the increased sales numbers indicated that the samplings attracted new customers.

The Great American Seafood Cook-off: The Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing sponsored Chef George Stella at the Great American Seafood Cook-off 2007 in New Orleans in August. Selected by Commissioner Bronson to represent Florida’s seafood, Stella competed with chefs from 19 states for the “King of Seafood” title. He prepared an entrée featuring Florida grouper, blue crab and red dragon fruit. Last year’s winner, Department Executive Chef Justin Timineri, judged this year’s competition and crowned the new “King of Seafood.”

Recipe and Educational: Six new recipe brochures were produced with updated recipes, educational information, and photos. These new consumer brochures include more information about each type of finfish or shellfish, nutritional values, health and mislabeling advisories, and buying, storing, safe handling, and cooking tips.

Photo Library: The bureau added a number of new photos of plated and raw seafood varieties this year in a continued effort to expand and update its photo library. These photos are available to industry and media for publication purposes and to garner publicity for the Florida seafood and aquaculture industry.

Public Relations

The bureau’s public relations efforts for fiscal year 2007-2008 continued to increase media and consumer awareness about Florida seafood and aquaculture products. This year’s initiatives included commodity-specific and informational press releases, event participation, distribution of promotional materials, television cooking segments and direct media contact. Over 99.8 million gross impressions and almost $200,000 in ad value were obtained from earned media. This exposure was accomplished by utilizing a multimedia approach at minimal cost and almost 60 documented articles or features were published in print or online as a result of these efforts.

Industry Marketing Assistance

Fishery Trade Leads

Leads from companies seeking fishery products, obtained from the National Marine Fisheries Service, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agriculture Service, and from foreign and domestic companies, are then compiled by the bureau and distributed to over 188 Florida seafood and aquaculture companies by email and fax. Trade lead recipients reported 20 new customers, 32 new prospects, and sales totaling $1,342,500 resulting from these leads.

Trade Events

International Boston Seafood Show: The Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture coordinated and hosted the Florida Pavilion at the International Boston Seafood Show, February 24-26, 2008, at the Boston Convention and Exposition Center. Florida seafood and aquaculture companies were provided a high-profile way to present and promote their products within the pavilion. The pavilion featured the following Florida companies: Fishbusterz Fisheries, Florida Alligator Marketing and Education, Gulf and South Atlantic Fisheries Foundation, Incredible Fish, Leavins Seafood, Shaw’s Southern Belle Frozen Foods, Stokes Seafood and Lake Trucking and Wood’s Fisheries. The goal of participating in this event is to promote Florida seafood and aquaculture, and give companies an opportunity to make new contacts and generate sales. Over 17,000 seafood and aquaculture buyers from around the world attended the show. Those buyers visiting the Florida Pavilion contributed to a banner year with record combined sales estimated $20 million for the eight participating companies.

Las Vegas Restaurant Show: The Florida alligator industry was well represented at the Las Vegas Restaurant Show, February 26-27, 2008. Chef Josh Butler, Executive Chef for the Florida Governor’s Mansion, served alligator bites with four different sauces and a large pot of alligator Picadillo, a Cuban dish, both days. Over 30,000 restaurant owners, managers, buyers, and decision makers were in attendance. A culinary competition was set up across the aisle, so future executive chefs were introduced to the qualities and versatility of Florida alligator meat. The booth was sponsored by the Florida Alligator Marketing and Education Advisory Committee (FAME).

European Seafood Expo: The bureau coordinated, on the behalf of the Southern U.S. Trade Association, a Southern U.S Seafood pavilion at the European Seafood Expo in Brussels, Belgium. This is the largest seafood only show in the world and attracted buyers from 77 countries. Participating Florida companies reported sales at the show of $250,000 and anticipated future sales of $1.2 million as a result of this event.

Asia Events: On behalf of SUSTA, bureau staff coordinated Southern U.S. seafood pavilions at the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Dalian, China, and the Busan International Seafood and Fisheries Expo in Busan, Korea. Participating companies at these two trade events reported sales of $1.35 million as a direct result of their participation in these events.

“sEa Notes” Industry Newsletter

The Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing constantly searches for new and innovative ways to highlight activities and opportunities available for industry. In order to maintain communication with the Florida seafood and aquaculture industry, the bureau developed “Sea Notes,” an electronic newsletter distributed quarterly to seafood restaurants, retail markets, wholesalers, and other seafood allied industry members. The newsletter showcases the Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing’s promotional efforts and provides timely Florida seafood industry news. “Sea Notes” notifies recipients of opportunities for industry to be involved in marketing activities coordinated by the bureau.

Florida Seafood Seasons Advisory

The Bureau also publishes “Florida Seafood Season Advisory,” an informational piece to inform Florida’s retail, wholesale and restaurant seafood industry of upcoming seasons as well as other topical information such as changes to quotas and bag limits. This advisory is published and distributed monthly, or as often as necessary, via email and highlights openings and closures of commercially harvested Florida seafood. In addition to the regular monthly distribution, special advisories were sent when we receive new or updated information regarding a certain species, opening or closure.

Promoting Seafood and Aquaculture on the World Wide Web

The bureau’s two web sites, www.FL-Seafood.com and www.WildFloridaShrimp.com, provide consumers, Florida’s seafood and aquaculture industry, retailers, and the media with many downloadable seafood and aquaculture-related brochures, point-of-purchase materials, videos, audio files, and press releases. The websites received 317,350 visits during fiscal year 2007-2008.

For consumers, www.FL-Seafood.com features: Florida seafood recipes; nutritional information about seafood; information about 28 popular Florida seafood species; oyster safety information; calendar of Florida seafood festivals; tips for handling, storing, and cooking seafood; a list of retailers and restaurants across the state that feature Florida seafood; history of Florida’s coastal fishing communities; and a list of suppliers of finished alligator leather products.

Last year a special web page was added that focuses on product substitution, specifically grouper. Information is included on this page regarding the legal issues, suggestions on how to differentiate grouper from a substitute, and how and where consumers can file a complaint if they suspect a product may be something other than what it is advertised as.

For wholesalers and retailers, the web site provides convenient online order forms for promotional materials, research and educational information on food safety and handling, trade leads, seafood advisories, and the “Sea Notes” newsletter.

“Go Native!” Campaign

“Go Native! Eat Florida Seafood” is a dynamic new campaign to encourage consumers to “eat like the locals.” With the nationwide interest in buying locally produced foods, “Go Native!” is designed to help consumers easily identify and select seafood caught in Florida’s waters. The campaign spotlights Florida’s important seafood industry and boosts business for retailers and restaurants as well. The logo, a colorful cartoon fish with sunglasses, was an important component of the campaign. A television ad ran through the summer to encourage consumers to look for the logo that identifies Florida seafood products at participating seafood markets and restaurants