Retail & Supermarket Seafood Buyers

Sustainable blue food systems are increasingly shaped by — and reshaping — seafood markets, investment flows, and public policy. This session explored how sustainability is moving from aspiration to infrastructure, becoming embedded in trade rules, procurement standards, investment criteria, and regulatory frameworks.

Interoperable traceability systems give producers access to high-value markets, and governments the transparency needed to support the fishing sector, strengthen livelihoods, and meet regulatory requirements. For global buyers, digital traceability reduces risk, improves supply chain resilience, and enables more direct sourcing. In this context, traceability is not an addon; it is the core infrastructure that underpins market access, quality assurance, and responsible production. Aligning incentives across the value chain — from small-scale fishers and farmers to major buyers — traceability creates accountability, reduces risk, and rewards responsibly harvested, high quality seafood. [Read More…]

Over the past two decades, per capita seafood consumption in Japan has nearly halved as more Japanese consumers opt for red meat and poultry, which is more affordable and easier to prepare. In this diminishing market, where are the opportunities for global seafood and aquaculture suppliers targeting Japan? What are the promising products, forms, and channels? What shapes the seafood taste and buying choices of Japanese consumers? Are consumers interested in global trends like sustainability? What are the cultural attitudes towards seafood versus aquaculture, and how do they impact the growth of the sectors in Japan?

Retail compliance is no longer just about following regulatory checkboxes or bespoke information requests – it now extends to the digital data that underpins seafood traceability, sourcing claims, and regulatory reporting. Retailers are rolling out updated requirements that go beyond regulation to span case and pallet labeling, standards-aligned electronic data sharing, and interoperability between systems. For suppliers, keeping pace with these changes is becoming a condition of doing business.

This panel brought together retail leaders and digital experts to unpack what’s changing and how suppliers can prepare. Panelists shared how they are approaching updated compliance expectations and working with suppliers to streamline adoption. Wholechain and GSA contributed perspectives on enabling suppliers with interoperable digital traceability solutions and integrating certification and supply chain data.

With shifting geopolitical dynamics and high tariffs on seafood imports from Russia and Belarus, the U.S. seafood industry is uniquely positioned to expand its footprint in European markets. However, seafood from the western coast of the U.S. includes a variety of species that are unfamiliar to many chefs, buyers, and consumers in EU markets. This session explored the potential for U.S. West Coast Seafood in EU markets and answered the question – ‘why choose West Coast seafood?’ – for EU buyers.  Key topics covered included:

• EU procurement trends: buyer specifications, pricing of west coast seafood, and duties updates
• Opportunities for Western U.S. seafood in the EU Markets: consumer sensory perception for fresh vs frozen fish, product quality data, market research, and sustainability
• Seafood Butchery: Albacore tuna butchery demonstration and sample tasting
• Product Innovation: Culinary and value-added potential for Western US seafood in EU Markets

Consumers are demanding greater reassurance than ever about the origins of their food. This trend is matched by a growing willingness to pay a premium for sustainably produced or sourced products – with research from PwC showing consumers may pay up to 10 percent more for verified sustainable options.

Tuna is a global commodity that is both the most consumed marine species in the E.U. and the most widely consumed seafood in the world by volume. Procured from a wide variety of ocean areas and fisheries, the different species of tuna present many unique challenges for buyers who want to ensure top quality produce at the best price, while at the same time navigating the complexities of sustainability requirements and reputational risks associated with human rights issues. [Read More…]