More lobster is now being sold retail at Massachusett's Big Y Market chain. (Photo: Stock File/Big Y)

Lobsters entering the discount market

UNITED STATES
Thursday, September 10, 2009, 03:50 (GMT + 9)

The once-pricey Maine lobster has begun to infiltrate discount markets such as wholesale clubs and take-out aisles at grocery stores as part of a strategy to expand its reach and strengthen market conditions for struggling fishers.

Portland Shellfish Inc announced Tuesday that its Claw Island brand Maine Lobster Claw and Knuckle Meat can now be found in 22 BJ's Wholesale Clubs across New England. The firm’s Portland Lighthouse has also extended the reach of its Lobster Salad, now available in 6-oz cups at the western Massachusetts chain Big Y Markets.

"You have to change,” said Scout Wuerthner, sales manager at Portland Shellfish, Portland Press Herald reports. “You can't be constant, especially when there are so many lobsters around to process."

Maine's lobster industry, worth an annual USD 235 million, has been fighting to sell product since the global economic downturn deflated demand as of last year. Locals and tourists alike benefited from bargain prices this summer thanks to the weakened market.

Meanwhile, many a fisher has been selling lobsters out of a home or vehicle rather than wholesale in hopes of earning more money.

Only a few processors in Maine cook and freeze the seafood for cruise ships, restaurants and retail markets on a global scale – one of them is Portland Shellfish. It purchases and processes 30,000 to 40,000 lb of lobsters daily between July and November, when the lobster season in the state hits its peak.

The company made the decision to enter the supermarket business in response to declining demand from high-end restaurants all over the world.

"The retail market's much better right now,” Wuerthner opined. “[Customers] are not afraid to spend a little money and get something good they can eat at home, rather than go out to a restaurant."

Portland Shellfish is feeling the difference, says Wuerthner, as many as 5,000 6-oz lobster salad cups are being sold each week.

Marketing Director for the Maine Lobster Promotion Council (MLPC) Marianne Lacroix said that even though the trend had been for 75 per cent of lobster catches to go to restaurants for consumption, a new seafood trend seems to be replacing the old.

"Now, with the economy where it is, restaurants are seeing a decline in visitors and in check averages," she noted. "Where people are shopping more at the grocery stores, I think it's a great time to make expansions into retail."

The new seafood products of Portland Shellfish are helping to expand the lobster market, said founder and President Jeff Holden.

"We believe in the sustainability practices which lobstermen are committed to, and we want to support fisheries and the industry as a whole by creating as much lobster demand as possible," he said. "We're all in this together."

The firm supplies fresh, frozen and pasteurized Maine lobster, Jonah crab and Maine shrimp products to retail and food service companies in over 20 countries all over the globe. Their seafood is all caught in the North Atlantic waters off the coast of Maine.

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- Value of Maine lobster landings hits low-point

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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