GAPP Board Funds New and Existing Organizations to Continue Building Demand for Wild Alaska Pollock

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New and even more innovative Wild Alaska Pollock products will soon be coming to restaurants and retailers across North America and Europe as the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) invests with major food companies. As part of its programs, GAPP has newly awarded nearly three quarters of a million dollars in funding to seven organizations who are launching exciting new products made with delicious and sustainable Wild Alaska Pollock to feed more consumers every day.

Competition was stiff for GAPP’s co-investment funds.  “I think you’ll see that the new organizations represent a diversity of channels—from quick-serve restaurants (QSRs), to large box retailers, to foodservice distributors and more,” said Craig Morris, GAPP CEO. “These new products represent the versatility of Wild Alaska Pollock and our collaboration will help consumers experience the delicious meal and snack options that come with this fish.”

New and continued participants in the program include Gorton’s Seafood, High Liner Foods, Louis Kemp, Pescanova USA, Restaurant Depot and 7-Eleven, Inc.  Gorton’s will be launching a brand-new awareness campaign titled “Move Over Meat, It’s Seafood Time,” which will showcase Wild Alaska Pollock in a number of beautiful, crave-able recipes and highlight the benefits of adding more seafood to consumers’ diets.  High Liner Foods, in two separate campaigns, will both launch and drive awareness for its new “Alaska Wild Pollock Fish Wings” which can be served as a delicious snack or appetizer and is a tasty alternative to chicken wings, while also promoting its “Go Wild” Line—including the “Alaska Pollock Wild Wings” in the ever-popular convenience-store and quick-serve restaurant category.

Speaking of the popular convenience store category, 7-Eleven has been funded for a new promotion in 2021, as a follow-up to their popular Wild Alaska Pollock fish sandwich launched during Lent this year. Excitingly, Pescanova USA, will launch a Fettuccine Protein Pasta to target the chilled category and be marketed as the ‘all good, no guilt’ pasta. Restaurant Depot is another new participant this round and will be carrying a variety of Wild Alaska Pollock products in their club stores which have seen an increase in consumer-traffic due to coronavirus.

Wild Alaska Pollock will also be getting in on the Super Bowl action this year, through a partnership with Louis Kemp and celebrity chef Nancy Fuller. The exciting program will promote recipes featuring surimi seafood as perfect Super Bowl snacks for the “big game.”

“We are so excited by these initiatives brought to us by our partners,” said Mikel Durham, GAPP Board Chair. “We already know that wild-caught Alaska Pollock has the highest standards for quality and sustainability—and now we are going to introduce the consumer to new, tasty ways to consume it!”

In total, GAPP received more requests for funding than funding was available. The GAPP Fillet and Surimi Committees reviewed the proposals in detail prior to making their funding recommendations to the full GAPP Board of Directors, which made its final determinations on funding awards late last week. All organizations bring equal or greater funds to invest in the projects and must commit to using U.S.-sourced Wild Alaska Pollock for the duration of the program and beyond.

The GAPP Board also approved one “off-cycle” funding proposal from European Seafood giant Young’s for their new “Gastro Bakes” line of Wild Alaska Pollock products to launch in the United Kingdom. These delicious dishes will bring the convenience of a one-pan meal to consumers across the region with healthful Wild Alaska Pollock and delicious sauces to accompany it.

“As we all continue to manage and understand the effects of the coronavirus, the GAPP Board of Directors felt it imperative to move forward with these current and new participants to continue meeting consumers where they are and making sure that Wild Alaska Pollock is top-of-mind for them wherever they dine or shop,” said Craig Morris, GAPP CEO. “We’re excited to see how these new products perform and to have a whole new group of consumers that falls in love with our fish.”