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Getting into a new program year (July 2003-June 2004), ASMI has been continuing to tie up with numerous supermarket chains both on national and regional levels for in-store promotions.
This season’s harvest level of Alaska wild red salmon, the most appreciated fish in the Japanese market, perked up a little bit, and Alaska seafood industry tended to ship more H&G sockeye salmon to Japan this summer more than in last year.
It should be noted that fresh frozen H&G Alaska sockeye salmon is getting popular in EU especially in Germany and UK in recent years.
One thing in common among these major sockeye salmon markets in the world is that the attention toward safe and comfort food is remarkably growing. During July through the end of 2003, ASMI Japan received more requests and inquiries than in the past from the Japanese trade for joint promotion. They all wanted to appeal aggressively to the consumers that Alaska seafood was wild, natural and safe.
ASMI’s retail trade partners featured wide variety of species such as Alaska sockeye, chinook, coho, flat fish, black cod, sujiko and ikura salmon roe and tarako cured pollock roe at the store shelves. Here are some scenes of ASMI’s trade tie-up in-store promotions. |
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| ●In-store Promotions |
In July, Uoriki, a major seafood category killer, and Daiei conducted Alaska seafood fair moving more than 40 metric tons of Alaska sockeye salmon kirimis.
In August, Co-op Sapporo, Japan's second largest consumer co-op conducted Alaska seafood fair at 50 retail outlets and through its home-delivery program to feature Alaska new season sockeye salmon, sujiko and ikura salmon roe.
In September, Mycal Group put gigantic Alaska chinook salmon banners in all the
retail outlets nationwide, offering various Alaska |
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▲Alaska Seafood Fair
tied up with Coop Sapporo |
| salmon menus by cross merchandising with curry, spicy condiments and Japanese barbecue sauces, and achieved US$200,000 sales solely from Alaska seafood items during 3-day campaign. |
| Maruetsu, one of Japan’s most powerful supermarket chains in Tokyo metropolitan area conducted 60-day long Alaska seafood fair from mid September, and mainly featured trolled Alaska wild coho salmon. |
▲Maruetsu seafood fair |
ASMI supported Maruetsu and its supplier Benirei Corporation to develop catchy shelf talkers and panels for better communication with the shoppers for good things about Alaska salmon during these in-store promotions.
Yoshikawa Suisan, a major seafood category killer based in Tokyo, promoted a wide variety of Alaska seafood in its 20 busiest retail outlets in late September. |
General consumers really liked to taste-test seasoned sujiko salmon roe with freshly cooked rice at the store end during the fair. Yoshikawa management people were happily surprised to find 22% increase of sales compared with the same period of previous years. |
Okuwa, a dominant regional supermarket based in Wakayama prefecture, tied up with ASMI for the first time to conduct 4-day in-store promotions in its 27 major outlets.Aiso the first-ever tie-up Alaska seafood promo was successfully done by Izumi, a dominant regional retailer based in Hiroshima, Okayama, Yamaguchi and Fukuoka prefectures.
Getting into October, Commody Iida, regional supermarket chain in
Tokyo met area promoted Alaska seafood featuring Bristol Bay sockeye salmon mainly at 32 outlets for 3 days and achieved more |
▲Okuwa's fair |
sales than they had expected out of Alaska seafood items.
From October 25th, Heiwado, another dominant player in Shiga prefecture has
conducted Alaska Fair at 25 major outlets for 2 days. |
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Upon strong back up by the US Embassy Agricultural Trade Offices in Tokyo and Osaka, ASMI participated in multiple trade shows, wholesaler shows, trade seminars and showcases in Sendai, Nagano, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Osaka from July to November 2003. In these events, ASMI basically met with the national and regional trade partners to negotiate future tie-up promotions.
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| ●Dancyu tie up Consumer Original Recipe Contest |
For 4th year in a row, ASMI has sponsored consumer recipe contest organized by the Japan’s most popular consumer food magazine ‘Dancyu.’
This year’s theme for application was to feature sockeye salmon, ikura, black cod and/or pacific cod, and during 40 day entry period 212 applications were collected.
2 finalists picked through preliminary examination participated in the grand-prize contest which was held on January 18th (Sunday) 2004 at the renowned Hattori Culinary College in Tokyo. ASMI export program director and marketing specialist visited the event which drew lots of media attention as well. |
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| ●ASMI co-sponsored the 5th annual consumer seminar and Alaska seafood lunch party with Co-op Miyagi in Sendai on January 21st, 2004 |
This time ASMI invited Dr. Yukio Hattori as a special guest speaker on ‘Shokuiku (=food education for children).’ Dr. Hattori is a chairman of Hattori Dietitian College, and is one of the nation’s most renowned food experts. He is well known as a chief judge of ‘Iron Chef’ a very popular TV program once being aired in Japan and now on re-run in the United States.
About 150 were invited to the event in Sendai among the ordinary consumers who shop at Co-op Miyagi every day, and also part-time workers at seafood section of Co-op Miyagi retail outlets. |
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| ▲Dr. Yukio Hattori |
▲Mr. Mark Dries
(Director of U.S. Agricultural Trade Office) |
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●ASMI ties up with Hokkaido Seafood Processors Association (Do-kakoren) to
promote Alaska Kazunoko herring roe |
ASMI for the first time tied up with the Hokkaido Federation of Marine Processing Cooperative Associations (=Kakoren) to kick off a brand new joint promotion program for Alaska 'kazunoko' herring roe in the 2003 year-end gift campaign period.
ASMI and Kakoren co-developed and distributed 'Alaska Naturally' kazunoko posters, recipe leaflets and flyers while well-trained demonstrators offered premium grade Alaska kazunoko herring roe to the Japanese consumers at the major department stores and seafood category killers outlets. |
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