Seattle, Washington-headquartered Trident Seafoods won the “Best New Foodservice Product” award for its SeaFusions Pacific Cod Bites in the 2016 Seafood Excellence Awards competition held during Seafood Expo North America (SENA), which concluded on March 8 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. The Sriracha sauce-accented frozen product features a natural hand-cut look appearance and is made to appeal to contemporary consumer appetites for hot snacks and smaller portion options.
The “Best New Retail Product” award went to Kickin’ Seafood Chili, a non-frozen item distributed in 255-gram retort pouches under the Simply West Coast brand produced by Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based French Creek Seafoods. It features wild-caught halibut and a blend of small white beans, yellow corn, diced green chilies with cumin and tomatillos.
The winners were selected from a group of finalists during a live judging by a panel of seafood buyers and industry experts from the retail and foodservice industries. Judges included Jennifer Wandler from US Foods, Sunita Seran of Loblaws, and Stan Harvey from The Cheesecake Factory.
Finalists were previously selected through a screening of products participating in the SENA New Product Showcase that featured condiments and culinary dishes launched in the past year by exhibiting companies.
The Seafood Excellence Awards recognize product leaders in the North American seafood market. Products are judged based on several criteria, including uniqueness and appropriateness to the market, taste profile, market potential, convenience, nutritional value and originality.
Co-located with Seafood Processing North America, Seafood Expo North America is the continent’s largest seafood trade show. This year’s edition attracted more than 20,600 seafood industry professionals from over 100 countries to check out products and learn about services offered by more than 1,200 exhibiting companies.