Seafood Literacy
Seafood Literacy’s Mission:
Our mission is to increase seafood consumption across all demographics. Additionally, in the aftermath of COVID-19, we have been motivated to educate retail seafood counter staff to further this mission.
Grant Project Goal(s):
Through proven video education pedagogy, this program will give frontline seafood representatives better understanding of the importance of sustainable sourcing, how to prepare and cook seafood, and build their confidence in selling seafood - a skillset we call Seafood Literacy. With the confidence and competence to take full advantage of all the unique qualities of fish, shellfish and sea veggies have to offer, retailers may earn more customer loyalty and create demand for a greater diversity of species and market forms.
The course uses a combination of learning modalities including text and video, as well as self-assessments. We cover topics such as why sustainable seafood matters, sustainability from sourcing to serving, types of fishing and aquaculture methods, how to talk to customers about seafood, understanding seafood culinary categories, and basic seafood cooking techniques.
In summary: This project intends to educate Seafood Retail staff - frontline seafood representatives – to provide confidence and competence to talk about seafood and how to prepare it. The overall project goal is to evaluate the efficacy of Seafood Literacy online training for retail sales staff and potential positive results in increased seafood sales.
Immediate Objective(s):
To educate retail seafood counter associates on why sustainable seafood matters, sustainability from sourcing to serving, and types of fishing and aquaculture methods, providing further confidence to counter associates when discussing seafood sustainability and other seafood topics with consumers.
Key Learnings:
What challenge/need were you facing prior to receiving support from Sea Pact?
Retail seafood counter staff associates are frequently under-prepared to answer questions for the consumer. Initial surveys we have conducted to gauge interest and need for this education indicate the majority still believe fresh to be superior to frozen, and wild to be better quality than farmed across the board. Many also do not eat seafood themselves and have little to no knowledge of how to prepare seafood. Additionally, they largely recommend the most popular seafood items, which are often imported shrimp, salmon, and pangasius, when many domestic items are indeed more sustainable, traceable, and delicious! Limited time offers and promotions are effective in moving particular product, but these are most often supplier driven. In order to help retail seafood counter staff provide the best service to their customers and potentially sell more seafood, this project proposes to provide educational programs and evaluate the potential result in sales as well as customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction may correlate to increased consistent sales and value perception of seafood.
What changed after being part of Sea Pact’s grant program? What specific outcomes can you share?
Initially we intended to simply refine an existing Seafood Literacy program to present to retailers. In speaking with retailers, we realized the language and specific material presented needed to be reframed entirely. As such, we scripted and recorded new material and produced a new program specifically for retailers using language that resonated with retail counter staff and their customers.
This new program was 4 hours in length and featured the following modules:
Why Sustainable Seafood Matters
Sourcing, Farming, & Fishing Methods
Seafood Diversity
Frozen Seafood
Introduction to Seafood Categories
Muscle Structure & Impact of Muscle Types on Flavor
Flaky White Fish: Species & Characteristics
Fillet Fish: Species & Characteristics
Orange Fleshed Fish: Species & Characteristics
Meaty Dense Fish: Species & Characteristics
Steak Fish: Species & Characteristics
Shrimp, Lobster, Crab: Species & Characteristics
Bivalves: Species & Characteristics
Introduction to Seafood Cooking Techniques: Sauté, Slow Roast & Pan Roast
The web-based video learning program was well-received. We gave 3 webinars to sales teams and Sea Pact member groups about the program. Barton Seaver also presented the program to members of FMI. Unfortunately, we did not have the completion rate we hoped for (target: 100 users). People largely watched the videos, but did not do the quiz/assessments.
We gave away over 300 sign up codes.
Total users: 58 (note, this does include some users that we know did the class as a group setting, as such we do not have a way to capture the total number)
Tasks (Total): 13,644 (this indicates that many single users did tasks multiple times)
Total passed: 6
Major learning: you can provide all the tools in the world, but getting people to use them is a task itself.
Average completion percentage: 28.1%
Average percentage completed after removing those who enrolled, but did no tasks: 58.5%
Are there any key learnings/takeaways that you can share that would benefit the entire industry?
We have learned that training is necessary, but difficult. Throughout the industry staffing shortages and turnover, combined with inflation, supply chain disturbances, and increasingly slim margins make finding time and funding for training very challenging.
The program was very well received, but largely under-utilized. Of those who did complete the training, many reported they were more confident in their knowledge about seafood and ability to speak about it. They largely understood the value and quality in frozen products, as well as diversity of species. Many found the information about catch and farming methods less interesting or relevant. The culinary categories and cooking techniques were well received. Several students requested additional cooking techniques and specific recipes to share. Most retailers have their own onsite/corporate dietitians and chefs, so we did not consider including these at this time.
Providing funding either for employers to give the course during work hours or adding student stipends would be a recommendation for future projects. This was an element that was jettisoned in the budgeting phase, and may have been another detriment to completion. In work with even a modest gift card or entry to win a larger gift card, we have had more success.
For this program, we did not institute time limits on start/end dates, but we have found that having cohorts and deadlines are effective in encouraging completion. We continued to encounter the quote “Something that can be done at any time is often done at no time. Do it now, or decide when you'll do it.” Perhaps offering this course as a time-determined seminar, or as part of onboarding or weekly training may prove more effective in the future.
The largest hurdle we believe is internal adoption by the retailers. Without a champion in the user network, the resources remain largely unused. In the future engaging with a specific retailer to tailor the program to their ecosystem specifically may prove more effective than general education.
For more information check out the program at https://seafoodretailer.rouxbe.com or contact Katy at katy@forcodandcountry.com.
