This is the usual “green” discussion, this time using seafood as the object of outrage. No, most consumers do not care about sustainability or illegal fishing or human rights abuses or single-use plastic. This doesn’t mean retailers should not do something positive about this, but don’t expect shoppers to flock (or swim) to your store because you are taking some steps. A single retailer doing something is not going to fix the problem — we need most retailers to do it all at once.

Trust and transparency in the grocery, meat and seafood industry are so critical for brands to maintain. Consumers are so much more conscious of their buying decisions, particularly around product sourcing, sustainability, ethical practices and the potential impacts to our family’s health. An increased amount of product choice and knowledge brings high expectations for the food industry on their sourcing practices.

The Whole Foods phenomenon and the rise of organic, sustainably sourced foods has raised the bar for the entire food industry. Grocers should be prepared to open their books and drive that trusting relationship with their customers. It’s not only the Millennials or Generation Z segments that are concerned about product sourcing. With all this information at our fingertips, the game has changed.

When every supermarket has an organic food aisle, the value of “green” vanishes.
Customers may be more aware of sustainability and sourcing, but they see most retailers taking at least some minimal steps towards this and it no longer differentiates Whole Foods or other retailers from the pack. Sourcing becomes more important at higher income levels and for a much smaller segment of the population. People on food stamps will be hard pressed to care about whether the tuna was caught illegally. The fact is that single areas (i.e. human rights, fishing, etc.) will not rise as hot issues at all, but a collective of these will continue to be important for a higher income segment — the problem will be that most consumers really won’t care how much so long as a minimum threshold is met.

I think it is definitely a case of “you don’t know what you don’t know” and in the case of seafood sourcing practices there is not nearly as much awareness of the issues as there are with some of the other aspects of the grocery experience — i.e., single use plastic bags at checkout, organic produce, free-range farming.

(Perhaps this is also more of a Midwest bias I hold, as we are surrounded by crop farming and cattle so there is a higher level of visibility to these industries. But when it comes to fresh seafood, “how was it sourced?” seems to take a backseat to “how did it get here?” in most conversations with grocers/restaurants.)

I am not sure where or how consumers learn about sustainable seafood practices of a retailer when they are in the store making a purchase. Depending on that, sustainable seafood practices may impact consumers’ perceptions of a grocer and/or whether they decide to purchase seafood at all from a given retailer. For consumers who do not do this research or have this information, a grocer’s sustainable practices are probably not part of the consumers’ decision-making process.

Of course most customers don’t pay attention to these issues. In fact, hipster consumers are generally the worst when it comes to thinking through the impact of purchasing decisions … which helps explain the Chilean sea bass problem and why indigenous people in quinoa growing countries can no longer afford to eat a product that has been a staple of their diets for millennia. But the fact remains that at the rate we are going, multiple species of food fish will become virtually extinct and the oceans will choke on all the plastic waste we dump into them. What grocers need to do is not pick a, “hot issue,” because ecology isn’t a point solution exercise. The whole idea is that all air, water and land systems are connected in the end, so focusing on one connection really doesn’t begin to address a solution. What grocers could do is begin a fact-based consumer education program about the global impact of certain fishing and dumping policies and perhaps tie it to conservation efforts in the communities… Read more »

One likely way retailers might weigh in on the “sustainable” seafood issue could be by spotlighting products from responsible aquaculture and pressing all suppliers to document their practices.

I’ve read that much shrimp from Asia, most Atlantic salmon, many oysters and pretty much all tilapia (freshwater cichlid) are not “wild” but spawned in enclosures. The farming practices for some of these products can be worrisome. There are loads of “exposes” about this issue on YouTube but also many posts that debunk some of the worst claims. How’s a consumer to sort this out?

Wild-caught fish are often preferred but can be more expensive. Rising global demand and irresponsible harvesting have put great pressure on fisheries.

Then there’s the pollution issue. Top predators like tuna and swordfish tend to accumulate contaminants from their prey, like mercury.

I think buying seafood can be mysterious for many shoppers. Grocers who offer clear guidance on sourcing, selection and preparation ideas will win trust and gain sales.