Peter Pan, Ocean Beauty, and Trident Seafoods products sing at 2023 Alaska Symphony of Seafood

BY MADELYN KEARNS

Product innovation is a life-force for Alaska’s fishing communities and the seafood industry as a whole, according to the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF). That’s why the Alaska Symphony of Seafood, a competition for commercial-ready value‐added products made from Alaska seafood, has been spotlighting product ingenuity for nearly three decades.

Beyond the Plate

Choice

“PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT is critically important to the entire industry and the fishing communities that depend on it,” the AFDF said. “Innovative new products position the industry to remain competitive and relevant to consumers.”

The latest competition saw chefs, seafood writers, seafood buyers, and other industry experts enlisted to help select the best new Alaska seafood products launched within three distinct categories: Retail, Foodservice, and Beyond the Plate. The judges were also charged with selecting the winners of six specialty awards, including the Grand Prize, Salmon Choice, Whitefish Choice, Seattle and Juneau People’s Choice, and Bristol Bay Choice.

“We added new categories to give high quality products opportunities for recognition. This resulted in an increased number and variety of products submitted. What’s clear is that Alaska seafood companies are becoming increasingly nimble, tackling challenges and market changes with product innovation. Companies that entered products in the Symphony are leading the way with noteworthy and highly appealing new products,” Julie Decker, the executive director for AFDF, said of the addition of the special awards in 2022.

Offerings were scored based on a variety of factors, such as product packaging and presentation, overall eating experience, price, and potential for commercial success.

In the 2023 Retail category, Wild Caught Alaska Salmon with Ribbon Kelp Chimichurri, produced by Peter Pan Seafood, took home the first-place prize, while Ocean Beauty Seafoods nabbed the top spot in Foodservice for its Ocean Beauty Grill House Burger.

Trident Seafoods’ Pure Catch - Wild Alaska Omega-3 Triple Strength was the 2023 winner for Beyond the Plate, which encompasses products featuring seafood waste or byproducts in applications outside of human consumption.

Meanwhile, the Seattle People’s Choice honor went to Barnacle Foods for its Kelp Chili Crisp, and the Bristol Bay Choice was awarded to Wild Salmon Chowder, produced by Thunder’s Catch.

All the first-place winners in the contest, as well as the Grand Prize winner, have scored booth space here at this year’s Seafood Expo North America event, and are entered into the Seafood Excellence Awards, which will be announced on Sunday, 12 March, 2023. Additionally, all Symphony entrants are receiving initial consulting services with the AFDF Startup Accelerator (formerly the Alaska Ocean Cluster), a new perk of the contest.

Judges for the 2023 Alaska Symphony of Seafood included Molly Brown of Holland America Line; Rosa Luquin and Michael Mills of Sysco; David Glass of Big Max Burger Company/Eden Hill Hospitality; Nick Novello of Miner’s Landing/Pier 57; BT Thompson of Rogge; Kimberly Valverde of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI); Daniela Klimsova of Bristol Bay Regional Development Association (BBRSDA); and Cynthia Nims of Mon Appetit LLC.

Key sponsors included ASMI, BBRSDA, Alaska Air Cargo, the At-Sea Processors Association, the Marine Stewardship Council, Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association, American Seafoods, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, the Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers, the Global Seafood Alliance, Kwik’Pak Fisheries, Marel, Matson, the Northwest Fisheries Association, the Pacific Seafood Processors Association, Trident Seafoods, UniSea, and United Fishermen of Alaska.