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Alaska
Specialty Salmon Marketing Mini-Grant Program Recipients
The Alaska Department
of Community and Economic Development and the University of Alaska/Kodiak
Fishery Industrial Technology Center received funding from the USDA-Cooperative
State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES) in 2000 to
begin a three-year mini-grant program to assist in the marketing of
niche Alaska salmon products. Applicants must be processors or direct
marketing fishers with a product that is already accepted on the market.
Funding is awarded each year on a competitive basis and used for advertising,
test product giveaways, marketing travel, label design, and other marketing
activities. Applications were judged on such criteria as the uniqueness
of the product, the creativity of the proposal, the extent of influence
the marketing might have on diversifying the salmon market, and how
well the product matches consumer food trends.
In addition to aiding
individual salmon processors with their marketing needs, the program
was designed to educate all interested parties on the effectiveness
of various salmon marketing strategies. Following are brief summaries
about the recipients and their use of marketing funds. Grant
program information and application.
Alaska Wild Fish
Market
Exploring alternative
uses for Alaskan salmon, the Alaska Wild Fish Market developed "salmon
on a stick" as a fast, convenient way to eat wild salmon. After
starting operations in Washington State, AWFM introduced "salmon
on a stick" to the restaurant at the Golden North Hotel in Skagway,
Alaska, where summer tourists enjoyed the product in 2001. To aid in
the marketing of their product, AWFM received $25,000 of funding. Radio
advertisement and promotions, including an Alaskan cruise for two,
have increased sales and awareness of "salmon on a stick." AWFM
diversified their product to include "halibut on a stick" and "cod
on a stick" and have successfully frozen their products to further
facilitate their production and distribution.
AquaCuisine
 Offering
an alternative to red meat and "veggie" burgers, AquaCuisine,
Inc. developed two varieties of salmon burgers as well as two salmon
pasta dishes made with minced Alaskan pink or chum salmon. In response
to growing consumer awareness of health issues, the salmon burgers
are fortified with Omega-3 oil. Retailers across the nation stock AquaCuisine
products where they are consistently either the exclusive or the dominant
brand of its kind. With $50,000 of funding, AquaCuisine increased the
market for their pastas and burgers through a Lenten promotion at Sam's
Club, a California newspaper coupon promotion, and entry into foodservice
organizations serving non-red meat burgers. As a result, Sam's bought
280,000 pounds of salmon in 2001, 120,000 pounds of which were purchased
during the Lenten promotion.
For more information,
visit the AquaCuisine's web
page.
Arctic
Paws
 Jointly
responding to the enthusiasm for pets in the U.S. while developing
the ancient Alaskan tradition of feeding dogs salmon, the owners of
Arctic Paws produce a variety of pet treats marketed under the trade
name "Yummy Chummies." In their Anchorage plant, Alaskan
salmon is converted into jerky and crunchy treats for dogs and semi-moist
treats for dogs and cats. In 2001, Arctic Paws received $42,500 of
funding to assist in expanding the market for their products. Funds
were used to aid the mail out of 2000 product samples to dog trainers
across the U.S. and to contact 50,000 veterinarians with product information.
Additional funds contributed to special give away and instant rebate
promotions.
Marked increase in
sales during 2001 and 2002 reflect the success of recent Arctic Paws
marketing. Hundreds of new customers arose from the product mail outs
including increasing numbers of repeat consumers. Arctic Paws formed
a relationship with Phoenix based company Happy Dog Toys which is expected
to sell large quantities of "Yummy Chummies" products in
the continental U.S.; the potential viability of European and Asian
markets is also being explored. As testament to the growing market,
February 2002 sales rose 345% over 2002 sales.
For more information,
visit the Arctic
Paws web page.
 Bristol
Bay Economic Development Corporation/Traditional Council of Togiak
In 2002, BBEDC received
a second regional marketing grant of $29,000 to continue marketing
Bristol Bay salmon and build on relationships with UK retailers Selfidges & Co.
and H. Forman & Sons. They intended to position Togiak king salmon
as the regular premium product at the Selfridge’s fish counter
and establish a distribution agreement with H. Forman & Sons. Unfortunately,
the Togiak king salmon run failed to materialize and the bulk of the
promotional campaign was postponed until the 2003 season. Representatives
did travel to the UK on one occasion and entertained one customer in
Bristol Bay.
BBEDC’s grant
has been expanded to include king salmon from Nushagak and possible
Port Heiden in order to avoid a repeat of the run failure in 2002.
Thirty fishing vessels in the Nushagak area have been converted to
the use of slush ice, improving salmon quality. For more information,
visit the BBEDC web site.
Capilano
Pacific
Capilano Pacific
specialized in the production of organic wild Alaskan salmon products
from Bristol Bay including smoked sockeye and king salmon, tei-en,
and vacuum-packed sockeye fillets branded under the label "Wildfish." In
addition to distinguishing their wild product from farmed salmon in
general, Capilano Pacific worked toward gaining acceptance of their
product in the organic food markets of the U.S and Europe. With $46,000
of funding, Capilano Pacific attended several trade shows both in the
U.S. and in Europe and identified small natural foods realtors interested
in stocking "Wildfish" salmon products as well as larger
conventional retailers. While no longer operating as Capilano, several
of the principals continue to operate with the "Wildfish" brand
and are successfully moving boneless vacuum packed frozen fillets to
high-end health food grocery stores in the US.
 Indian
Valley Meats
With their salmon
jerky products already accepted on the market in the U.S., Indian Valley
Meats (IVM) intends to enter the Asian and European markets and expand
U.S. demand. With $30,250 in grant funds, IVM will contact international
customers and send product samples to those who are interested. IVM
intends to make use of the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service which helps
U.S. small and medium-sized businesses find overseas agents, distributors,
and sales representatives. In the U.S., they intend to market their
salmon jerky to high-end retailers with outdoor-oriented, nutrition-conscious
customers, (such as Cabela’s, REI and Basspro). They will also
place ads with the Outdoor Channel. Promotional materials will follow
in the appropriate languages and representatives will travel to both
Asia and the continental U.S. For more information, visit the Indian
Valley Meats web site.
Kake Foods, Inc.
In an effort to enter
the $32 billion U.S. pizza market and promote healthy, sustainable
Alaskan salmon, Kake Foods developed a salmon sausage pizza topping
virtually identical in flavor and texture to traditional Italian pork
sausage. With the aid of a $25,000 of funding, Kake Foods introduced
their product at the March 2001 Boston Seafood Show where it was a
finalist for Rookie of the Year. They also gained the interest and
enthusiasm of Fishery Products International, which distributes for
multiple large pizza chains across the country, as well as two national
pizza chains. They also used grant funds to create a CD brochure and
pizza topping brochure to promote their product, the quality of their
operation, and the message of sustainable salmon resources.
Kooskooskie
Fish
 With
$15,000 in funding, the owner of Kooskooskie Fish promoted
the Fishers Community Marketplace. A web-based Alaskan salmon distributor,
FCM sells fish to fundraising organizations while promoting the health
and sustainability of Alaskan salmon as well as the culture of Alaskan
salmon fishermen. FCM encourages ecologically and socially conscious
consumers to purchase their fish and thereby support wild salmon stocks,
the health of oceans and rivers, and the perpetuation of Alaskan fishing
cultures. FCM sponsors the U.S. Water Polo team which will act as ambassador
to other Olympic teams in promoting the health benefits for athletes
of eating wild Alaskan salmon.
The Fishers Community
Marketplace supplied fish for the June, 2001 Water Conference where
the representatives of many organizations involved in water issues
met; FCM's involvement introduced potential buyers to their web market
and supported the discussion of Alaskan waters at the conference. Kooskooskie
Fish also co-hosted a First Fish Dinner in Seattle in May, 2001, with
Farestart, a restaurant which serves as a training site for the homeless.
This initiated the Parable Project which strives to demonstrate that
one fish can feed/serve many. Funds were used for travel expenses,
public relations, and web development.
For more information,
visit the Kooskooskie
Fish web page.
Lady
Marion Seafoods
 Lady
Marion Seafoods specializes in the sale of fast, healthy salmon products
for driver-through consumers. To assist with advertisement, the development
of salmon products, and the creation of fast food deli stands in Anchorage,
Lady Marion Seafoods received $38,294 of funding. In June of 2000,
the first "Salmon Express" stand opened in South Anchorage
and began to develop a consumer body drawn by the convenient, healthy
salmon products. Relocation to an area with heavier traffic resulted
in triple the original sales and the deli has since gained recognition
for its products throughout Anchorage. The menu offered by Salmon Express
includes the "salmon quesadilla," which mimics the popular
fish taco, and contributes to 65% of sales. Lady Marion Seafoods anticipates
launching franchises in Alaska and the west coast for special events
like fairs, swap meets and outdoor markets.
For more information,
visit the Lady
Marion web page.
OmegaSea,
Ltd.
OmegaSea, Ltd. produces
the only fish food that uses fish rather than fish meal as its primary
ingredient. At their Sitka, Alaska plant, chum salmon is mixed with
other ingredients to produce a variety of high quality fish foods marketed
under the brand name "Omega One." In addition to providing
a unique and high quality product, OmegaSea contributes to the local
commercial fishing industry by purchasing chum salmon harvested for
roe; without an avenue for the flesh of chum salmon, chum fishermen
would be unable to harvest the lucrative roe. With $42,000 of funding,
OmegaSea expanded its advertising into several aquarium and pet related
magazines and attended trade shows to promote their product and form
further relationships with specialty pet and aquarium retailers. As
a result, sales increased 47% after nine months and the number of retailers
carrying OmegaSea jumped from 1600 to 2200.
Paug-Vik,
Inc., LLC
Paug-Vik, Inc., the
Naknek ANSCA village corporation, owns a seafood processing plant that
produces once-frozen, high-quality sockeye portions. With $30,000 in
funds, Paug-Vik launched a program to market their product through
established brands. With a successful market in Europe and Inuit ownership,
Royal Greenland was Paug-Vik’s first choice as a business partner,
but they proved unable to accommodate Paug-Vik in 2002 due to changing
circumstances and restructuring within the company. Instead of meeting
with Royal Greenland, Paug-Vik traveled to the National Summit on Emerging
Tribal Economies in Arizona and met with several other prospective
partners. Further grant funds will be used for travel to Europe in
the spring of 2003 to meet with processors in the Netherlands, Germany,
and Scotland.
Paug-Vik has discovered
that a number of processors are interested in purchasing H&G sockeye
for further processing in addition to the vacuum packed fillets. As
the grant progresses, Paug-Vik is realizing that the U.S. may be their
most promising market, as U.S. consumers are becoming increasingly
aware of the differences between wild and farmed salmon.
Rose
Fisheries
Using flash freezing
techniques to preserve cohos and chinooks minutes after being caught
at sea, Rose Fisheries produces salmon fillets and steaks of unsurpassed
quality. Freezing salmon at sea produces a product that maintains the
desired texture and quality of fresh fish and, when thawed, is low
in bacteria count and free of parasites, making it ideal for raw fish
products. With $25,000 of funding, Rose Fisheries expanded the market
for their products through advertisement, trade shows, and the construction
of a web site. Alaska Magazine published an article featuring Rose
Fisheries which increased awareness of and interest in their operation,
resulting in significantly increased sales and a marketing tour to
interested parties in Arizona and Las Vegas. Rose Fisheries continues
to market their frozen salmon, lox, gravlox, and smoked products toward
gourmet and health food markets. For more information, visit the Rose
Fisheries web site.
Taku Smokeries
 Taku
Smokeries rapidly grew from a garage-based smoking business in 1984
to a large processing/smoking operation in 1992 occupying three acres
along Juneau's waterfront. Purchasing over six million pounds of fish
annually from local fishermen, Taku Smokeries produces frozen, smoked,
and specialty seafood products. Originally targeting Juneau's summer
tourists, Taku Smokeries expanded their retail capacities to include
year-round mail orders; by 2000, over 100,000 people had ordered products
by phone. To facilitate ordering for their customers, Taku Smokeries
used their $45,100 grant to convert their informational website into
an E-commerce website linked to their customer database. Funds were
also used to link the Taku Smokeries web site with six "virtual
malls" that experience upwards of 10,000 hits per day or one million
subscribers every two years.
For more information,
visit the Taku
Smokeries web page.
Tonka Seafoods
 Located
in Petersburg, Alaska, Tonka Seafoods produces four Alaska salmon mixes
that are quick and easy to prepare: smoked salmon chowder, smoked salmon
stew, smoked salmon fettuccine and smoked salmon dip. Originally sold
in relatively plain packaging, Tonka Seafoods applied for a specialty
salmon marketing mini-grant to upgrade their packaging and increase
the visual appeal, and therefore the sales, of their product. With
$30,000 of funding, they produced attractive packaging for their four
products. Replacement packages were sent to retail outlets to replace
previous packaging, trays were produced that hold three packages shrink-wrapped
together, and the products were shown in their new packages at the
Seattle gift show. Tonka intends to use their remaining funds to produce
two additional packages for new salmon products. Their experience suggests
that packaging is 75% of sales, the remaining 25% being a combination
of marketing, a good system of filling orders and a respectable product.
For more information,
visit the Tonka Seafoods web
page.
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