Clearwater Seafoods is expanding its value-added foodservice offerings, introducing six new culinary-inspired seafood items. These include Reduced Sodium Shrimp, Split Lobster with Butter, Scallop Selects, Bacon Wrapped Scallop Selects and two new flavor additions to the Scallops & Sauce line—Marinara and Sun-Dried Tomato. They are now available to foodservice operators throughout North America.
"Our focus on culinary and innovation is consistent with marketplace trends," says Jeff Duffin, vice president, marketing, Clearwater. "Consumers palates are sophisticated and they're adding more seafood to their diets for health and nutrition reasons.”
Duffin notes that the new line of products saves time for chefs when they are creating signature dishes for their restaurants and foodservice operations.
Clearwater began 2014 on a high note, having achieved strong growth in 2013 driven by the company's focus on offering the widest selection of sustainable, premium quality, MSC-certified species of any seafood harvester in the world. "There is a limited supply of wild seafood and our goal is to provide remarkable seafood that is responsibly sourced,” says Duffin. “A majority of chefs and consumers care about sustainable practices, and they can feel good about serving and eating these items.”
The National Restaurant Association named sustainability as one of its top trends for the industry for 2014.
Reduced Sodium Shrimp responds to consumers growing awareness of their sodium intake. These MSC-certified, wild-caught shrimp are harvested from the icy waters of the North Atlantic and are cooked, peeled, and frozen within 20 minutes of arrival at the company's facility in St. Anthony, Newfoundland, ensuring optimum freshness, texture, and taste. While sodium is naturally occurring in shrimp, Clearwater has developed a proprietary process that reduces the sodium by 25 percent.
Scallop Selects & Bacon Wrapped Scallop Selects are MSC-certified alternatives to sustainably sourced Atlantic sea scallops, as demand continues to outpace supply. Scallop Selects are individually formed scallop portions made with MSC-certified, wild-caught Patagonian scallops. An excellent value-priced alternative for foodservice operators, the uniform portions are made by chopping, forming, and individually quick freezing the finest sweet scallops. Available in natural and bacon-wrapped varieties, they provide the taste and appearance desired for multiple foodservice menu applications.
The Scallops & Sauce line now includes Marinara and Sun-Dried Tomato, following the successful launch of Garlic Cream in 2013. Scallops & Sauce products are a frozen seafood meal solution, consisting of Clearwaters' MSC-certified Patagonian scallops evenly coated in one of three signature sauces. They can be prepared on the stovetop or microwave, and once heated, chefs can add their own ingredients to make a custom seafood meal in minutes. Scallops & Sauce were recently named one of the top new products of the year by Seafood International.
Nova Scotia Prime Split Lobster with Butter uses Clearwater Premium Hardshell Fresh Lobsters, harvested when protein levels are the highest, ensuring high quality and maximum meat content. This half lobster portion comes chef-ready, with the Clearwater HPP (High Pressure Processing) fresh frozen raw meat from one half tail and one full claw, topped with two herb and garlic butter disks for flavor infusion during preparation.The split lobster can be prepared in as little as seven minutes—poached in its portion-controlled pack and finished on the grill for attractive plating. The lobster is also easy to use for banquet or convention settings.
"These six new varieties were identified as a result of consumer and customer research and through our daily discussions with leading chefs and restaurateurs who are familiar with our seafood and are working constantly to anticipate menu and flavor trends in their operations," says Duffin. "We anticipate a strong response as they become available in the marketplace."
