What’s In a Name? The True Langoustine (aka Scampi)

By Robert Landy

What is Scampi? There’s shrimp scampi, which is shrimp cooked in garlic butter, but that’s not scampi. Scampi is a type of lobster and is one of the world’s finest delicacies. There are, however, other species frequently referred to as scampi. For example, in the Midwest region of the US freshwater shrimp (Macrobrachium Rosenbergii) are referred to as scampi. So again, what exactly is scampi?

Is scampi a crawfish? Is scampi a crayfish? No, scampi are small clawed lobsters that unfortunately look a little bit like a crawfish. But they definitely shouldn’t be confused with the freshwater crawfish, which is primarily from the Gulf of Mexico and China. Crayfish is another name used for spiny lobster, and if that’s not confusing enough, in the southern US crawfish is called crayfish!

Tray of Crawfish

Is scampi a langostino? No, the Spanish word for shrimp is langostino, so we know it’s not that! A langostino is a squat lobster caught in Chile (Cervimunida Johni) and on the Pacific coast of Central America (Pleuroncodes Planipes).  These are very small lobsters that are sold mainly as cooked IQF meat.

Langostino Meat

So what are we talking about here? To start with, the French name for scampi is Langoustine, and so a scampi lobster is the true Langoustine.  It’s commercially caught in the North East Atlantic and in the North Sea. The Latin name for this species is Nephrops Norvegicus. There are also commercial quantities caught off of New Zealand and the Latin name for this subspecies is Metanephrops Challengeri. There are small quantities of scampi caught elsewhere, but the numbers are so few these are usually consumed locally. Most of the true Langoustines are sold head on, however Iceland and Ireland mainly process headless tails.

Tray of Scampi (Nephrops Norvegicus)

What do we call these buggers? These little lobsters are commonly called Scampi, Danish Scampi, Norway Lobster, Dainty Tails, Lobster Dainty, Dublin Bay Prawns, or, for you French buffs, Langoustines. Regardless of what you call them, they are truly one of the finest eating specialties from the ocean. Scampi have an amazing delicately sweet flavor and are served in the fanciest of restaurants.

New Zealand Scampi (Metanephrops Challengeri)

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Working Together to Drive Consumption

16.5 Pounds per capita represents all the seafood consumed in the US. Seafood falls above turkey (13.4) but below pork (47.8), chicken (59.2), and beef (62.9). I have been working in this industry for 26 years and in that time we have only been able to increase consumption by 3.2 pounds. During that same time frame, Chicken has increased by 30 pounds. Why the disparity?

Have we not spent the past quarter century working collectively to increase the consumption of seafood? To be honest, we have not. Yes there has been work done to increase consumer awareness about the benefits of eating seafood, to educate them on just how easy the products are to prepare, to develop consumer confidence. But most, if not all, of this work has been done by individual operators/stakeholders and at times the point of the education/awareness has been to promote one source of product at the expense of another. This latter kind of awareness building ultimately benefits neither party. For as the barbs fly back and forth, promoting one source over another creates confusion in the customers mind regarding which product is indeed better. The last thing we need in this industry is a customer who is not completely clear on why they should be eating seafood.

It really is time for us to find a way to come together as an industry and promote Seafood, in all its various forms. This requires both the industry to come together and coalesce around a marketing campaign that supports the various members of the seafood community in the US market as well as the development of a funding mechanism that provides the resources needed to fully support this effort. In conjunction with this idea, we need to redefine how government monies are used to support the industry. The expenses that are currently devoted to promoting one sub segment of the industry would be better served promoting the entire industry.

Let’s start the campaign with an internal goal of 20 pounds in 2020. Working together we could get there - working apart there is little chance of that lofty goal becoming reality.

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It’s the holiday season and no matter what is going on in the world you cannot help but be infused with the spirit of the season.  I usually take this opportunity to connect with friends and associates in the trade to review how we have done this year and discuss what we can think about doing together in the New Year.   I recently had the opportunity to sit down with one of our retail customers over lunch and although the conversation covered a myriad of topics, the one that I found most interesting was the one on relationship building.

For almost 10 years I was associated with a company that in its heyday was considered to have one of the best products in its category and to be one of the leaders in the development of branded seafood.  Since that time, as invariable happens, the competition increased and became more sophisticated - both in what they offered and how they went to market.  Competitors were able to eliminate the quality differential that existed and in many cases surpass it.  There is no doubt that this had an impact on sales, but for this retailer this supplier still reigned supreme in his stores.  Admitting that the company’s product offering was not what it once was and by most measures was middle of the road, my friend stated that the reason they still continued to do well with this product line was service.  If you called any one of their stores and asked the seafood associate if they had the company’s sales rep’s number, not only would he be able to provide it but in most instances comment that he had just seen them in the past few days.   This could not be said for most of the competitors. 

This attention to the store personnel resulted in the stores themselves getting behind the company’s products.  The store personnel would talk it up during promotional periods in order to maximize results and make sure it was well stocked and placed in the case.  Although corporate can dictate product selection - at the end of the day, my friend stated, it is up to the stores to make the sale.  By focusing on selling multiple layers of the organization, this salesperson was able to maximize results.  The salesperson was building and maintaining loyalty in the face of stiff competition.  Although this type of selling requires time (and consequently money), the results, if entrusted to the right hands, can be well worth the investment.

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2010 Predictions

As I contemplate the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 I am tasked with making predictions about what we can expect to see in the coming year.  Although 2009 was not as dire as many of us had thought it could be, I doubt there are many of us who will be sad to see the year pass and look forward to the opportunities that the future always holds in abundance.   

So what do I predict will happen in 2010?

• Although the economy will show “signs” of recovery in 2009, they will be only visible to those individuals working on Wall Street. Job creation will continue to be a challenge throughout 2010, as most companies continue to keep it lean and mean. Consequently, the average consumer will continue to increase savings and work towards trimming their budgets wherever they can. The increased savings rate will continue to impact the economic recovery, negatively in terms of year on year comparisons of the GDP - positively in that banks will be aggressive in developing lending relationships with solid companies in order to maximize the increased capital that will be at their disposal.
• Restaurants will continue to struggle with lackluster demand. Some of the high end chains will be forced to close a number of their poorer performing units in order to focus their resources on preserving their best units. The theme dining and mid-level chains will continue to promote value pricing in an effort to keep customer count, if not sales dollars, coming through the door. Profit margins will remain constant with 2009 as most of the chains have extracted most or all of the savings that they can from operations and administration already.
• Retail will continue to see increases ranging from 2-5%. The primary message will continue to be value for the dollar. Although most other proteins are anticipating a drop in production in 2010, which would normally result in increased prices, they will be hard pressed to pass along increases as they will not want to lose their competitive position relative to other proteins.
• Distribution will continue to see the consolidation primarily through attrition as smaller, weaker players are forced to sell or simply cease to operate.

2010 offers a variety of opportunities for seafood in that many of the core products that we sell are at historical lows - making seafood a true value, both in absolute and relative terms to other proteins.  Promoting that value will be the key to success in 2010.

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What’s in a name? Grouper

by Richard Stavis

One of the biggest strengths of Seafood is also its biggest weakness- the incredible variety of species available.  A well recognized Seafood “name” is very valuable.  It has the power to drive consumption and to maximize its value.  In days past fishmongers would give these fish the name of the fish that they most closely resembled OR the name of a similar fish that had a high market value.  Thankfully this practice is behind us for the most part, but there remains a patchwork quilt of products that resemble “famous name” fish as well as some fish that are able to claim those names even though they may not taste or look as you might expect them to.  Our goal with this recurring column is to help consumers make informed choices, as well as, to make lesser known species more accessible.

The FDA defines Grouper as a number of subspecies in the Epinephelus genus of fish.  It has a mild white fillet that is moist, dense, and a bit chewy.  It’s a high value fish and it’s highly prized, especially in the southeast.  Demand for it outstrips supply.  It’s also the poster child for name fraud, and it’s rare in that the fraud still goes on to this day.   Sometimes the importer is in on the scheme, sometimes it is being scammed from the processor.  As this issue has come to the forefront most responsible importers (Stavis Seafoods included) have started DNA testing all incoming shipments of frozen Grouper to ensure that what they are selling is truly Grouper.  This is less practical on fresh fish as it is often harvested and sold in smaller quantities.

What are some of the more common Grouper imposters?  Historically exporters from Indonesia and Thailand have sold Sweetlip, Emperor fish, and Bonefish as Grouper.   Swai/Basa/Pangassius (a future “What’s in a Name” subject) from Viet Nam took the U.S. by storm in the early 2000’s.  One importer was convicted this past May of selling more than 1 million pounds of the fish as grouper, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

A myriad of fresh fish have also been passed off as Grouper.  Some of the wild species used have included Tripletail, Corvina, KingClip, Snook, and Snapper.   We’ve also seen some farmed fish including Tilapia and Catfish being passed off as Grouper.

It is possible to ensure that what you’re selling can be or what you’re buying is legally Grouper, but is this the whole story?  What comes to mind when you hear the name “Reef Cod”?  Guess what- it’s a Grouper!  This fish has now become very popular because of its name cachet, but is it the best option if you want to replicate the experience of Atlantic Grouper?  Probably not- I’d go for Corvina! I ask again, what’s in a name?

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Branding             

One of the areas that I feel we have done a poor job of in the fresh seafood department is in developing brand loyalty.  No doubt there are plenty of branded products now hitting the case, as well as, a plethora of Private Label branded products.  But the question is - does the customer have any loyalty to these brands or are the products that they purchase driving their decision?  Is there a conventional retail store in this country that does not carry Oscar Meyer bacon, hot dogs and bologna?  Pepperidge Farm cookies?  Campbell’s Soup?  The list can go on at length of brand names that have become must-have products.  Are there any such products in the seafood case?  If a retailer changes from Chicken of the Sea brand shrimp to Contessa does the consumer really care?  Will anyone complain?  Will they even notice?

To make their brand relevant, companies need to define why it is important for the consumer to purchase - they need to develop a reason for the consumer to want to look for and purchase that brand.  As an industry we have spent a lot of time and energy convincing ourselves what the differences are between products - what we need to do is spend more of our resources conveying that message to the end consumer.   Through the power of branding we can convey to customers that the products that they are purchasing are safe, consistent and easy to use.   This, in turn, should lead to more confidence in their purchase and increase consumption.

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Imported Loligo Squid

There are several significant Loligo squid species imported into the US.  The two most significant are: Loligo chinensis (from China) and Loligo vulgaris (from India).  The one that offers the most value to the US consumer and is packed similar to US domestic squid is the Loligo chinensis squid from China.

Loligo chinensis is caught in the South China Sea and is typically brought to shore fresh.  There are Taiwan boats that freeze at sea, but the majority of the squid caught in the South China Sea is processed from fresh or first land frozen and then processed later.  Loligo chinensis is treated with a tenderizing agent during the cleaning process.  Very few US Squid importers list the tenderizing agent as an ingredient on their cleaned squid package.  BOSN calamari is one Chinese squid brand that has all the proper ingredients listed and is true net weight.

Loligo Chinensisafter processing is white, tender and neutral in flavor.  The US market prefers a tender squid with neutral flavor and this product meets those criteria. It is also packed in the recognizable format of tray and bag and is very competitively priced.   The squid is fully cleaned and tentacles are separated from tubes. The squid is sized by its tube length which mirrors the domestic loligo.

Loligo vulgarisis a loligo squid that comes to the US market primarily from India.  It is whole cleaned which means the tentacles are still connected to the tubes, but the tubes have been skinned and eviscerated.  The pack is typically in a block, not in a tray and bag, like the US or Chinese cleaned squid.  It is block frozen and wrapped in plastic.  Sizing is also typically tube count per kilo, not length of squid tube.

Loligo vulgaris is a very sought after specie around the world.  It is meaty, moderately tender; light colored and has a more pronounced flavor than the Loligo chinensis.  It is also chemically tenderized and the tenderizing ingredients are not usually declared on the package.

Regarding price, Chinese and Indian squid are similarly priced in the market.  The familiarity of the Chinese package versus the more obscure ct/ kg of the Indian squid and unruly block/bag means the Indian calamari is less likely to be found in retail.  Both Indian and Chinese squid packers are known to pack less than net weight, so once again it is critical to understand what one is purchasing.

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Selling the Seafood Sizzle

One of the biggest problems that most consumers have with seafood is that they simply do not know how to cook it.  This problem can be solved with a little education which will, when done effectively, create a loyal, committed customer.  The question is how to educate. In today’s fast paced society, the consumer is typically looking to reduce their time shopping.  Although they may say they are looking for an experience, in most cases, they target on developing a solution to their need for a meal and want to be in and out of the store as fast as possible.  Getting your customer engaged will be the key to making them a customer. 

The passive route to take is to develop recipe cards and to make them available to customers both at the counter and via your web site.  The benefit of this approach is the low cost - on the flip side - it will do little to engage your customer and get them excited about seafood.  The more proactive means of engagement would entail product demonstrations on site to show the customer the possibilities for creating a meal.  The upside of this approach is that your customer will see, smell, and taste the product - the downside is that it is expensive and results in limited customer exposure. 

I would recommend a hybrid approach - shoot a short video - no more than one minute - showing customers how to cook a particular meal.  In order to fully engage your store associates in the promotion, have them submit the recipes and do the cooking.  Combine this with a menu planning card as a take away and you have fully engaged your customer and made a sale in the process.

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Shrimp Recipe

Shrimp has become one of the most popular seafood items consumed by Americans today. There are many reasons why this is happening. One of them being that shrimp comes in a variety of packs and count sizes, therefore you buy the pack and size you need - so there’s no waste. It is also very affordable, versatile and easy to cook.  In minutes, you can have a delicious, healthy, home-cooked meal. There are many wonderful shrimp recipes around, here’s one of my favorites:

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients

• 1 bag of BOS’N Black Tiger Shrimp
• 1 raw onion (diced)
• 1 green pepper (diced)
• 1 bunch of scallions (diced)
• 1 box of linguini
• 1 16oz. can of tomato sauce (optional)
• A dash of: seasoned salt, garlic salt, accent and pepper
• 1/2 stick of butter

Instructions

• Boil the pasta until al dente
• Saute shrimp with butter
• Combine with diced onions, green peppers, and scallions
• Let this mixture simmer for 5 minutes
• Add tomato sauce (optional)
• Let it cool for 3 minutes
• Drain the pasta and mix it all together in a large bowl, serve with salad and garlic bread

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Great Seafood Sells - More than you might think

As the economy has gotten tougher and customers have looked to increase their buying power, seafood has become challenged to compete with other lower priced proteins in stores. Consequently, seafood has seen smaller increases in sales than any other proteins over the last 12 months. Consumers have transferred their food dollars from restaurants to the grocery store. In response to this and the need to work on tighter margins, retailers have been reviewing the viability of maintaining fresh seafood departments in every store. In some cases, based on the ROI per square foot, retailers have decided not to keep a service department and convert solely to a self-serve case. But, purely looking at ROI does not tell the whole story.  It does not provide the complete impact that a fresh seafood case can have on sales dollars and profits that a store generates.

One chain in particular discovered that the fresh seafood service case has a broad reaching impact on every department in the store. After removing a number of service cases, they found that store sales were suffering in most of the other departments. They noticed that a number of higher ticket items were showing softness in sales and that the average order size per customer was declining. Upon further inspection, it was determined that the withdrawal of the service seafood case drove customers to purchase their groceries elsewhere. These same customers tended to create more culinary experiences and drove the sales of many of the higher priced and potentially higher margin vegetable, dairy, grocery and meat items. Where the average consumer might have spent $75.00 per visit, the average service seafood case consumer would spend $125 per visit. Although the seafood department may represent only 2-3% of total sales in retail - the truth is that it has a greater impact on the success of the store. The results would lead one to believe that by effective merchandising of fresh seafood, highlighting its health and convenience benefits, and the cross merchandising of products, the percentage of customers who frequent the seafood case increases. This also generates a new contingent of customers who are interested in creating a culinary experience, not just a meal.

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