SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [by John Sackton] — April 24, 2014 — In a series of videos dealing with wild caught and farmed seafood, the Kroger Co. highlights its committment to seafood sustainability by emphasizing its work with responsible partners.
The video is well worth a look, because it shows how a retailer can effectively communicate a powerful seafood sustainability message without buying into the fear-mongering present in so many other NGO messages about sustainability.
The contrast between this video and the one released by the MSC and Loblaws last summer is stunning. Both are retailer attempts to show their customers their responsible committment to seafood sourcing, but one was made by people who see the long term value of selling seafood, while the other was made by an advertising agency who bought into the idea that fisheries are collapsing all around the world, and customers need to be protected from disaster. It is pretty obvious which message we think will work in the long term.
For wild seafood, Kroger works with the WWF and says that 76% of its top species are either MSC certified, in assessment, or engaged in a fishery improvement project. The species they highlight include Mahi Mahi from Ecuador and tuna and snapper from Indonesia – all labeled as 'Kroger sustainable fish.'
Their approach puts Kroger's responsible choices in the drivers seat, and is fully compatable with the Global Seafood Sustainability Initiative, which Kroger also mentions in the video.
"We know that our customers value our commitment to sourcing sustainable seafood," said Suzanne Lindsay-Walker, Kroger's director of sustainability. "We continue to work with fisheries and our supplier partners to ensure that Kroger's seafood is fresh, delicious and available for future generations."
For farmed seafood, they highlight the GAA Best Aquaculture Practices program.
In the videos on the Kroger Website, they emphasize the efforts to source responsibly and the reasons to do so, without denigrating catch methods, gear or other fisheries. In particular, they emphasize the positive message of providing seafood for the future, rather than the negative message that irresponsible fishing is destroying the oceans and seafood supply.
Kroger's strategy for responsibly-sourced seafood – which was developed in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund, a leading conservation organization – has been shared through social media during the past two weeks.
The full video highlights Kroger's committment to sustainable seafood in the grocery aisle by working with the International Seafood Sustainablity Foundation, and they talk about the future with Kroger's support of the Global Seafood Sustainability Inititiative.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.