Shellfish producers and their retail partners continue to innovate new ways to deliver products that don’t turn consumers off with sticker shock.

Beaver Street Fisheries (BSF) sells a wide variety of shellfish products in US grocery stores: shrimp, snow crab, lobster tails, clams, mussels, and scallops in multiple varieties, unit sizes, species, and specifications.

With the cost of shellfish — other than shrimp — climbing faster than many other seafood species over the past few years, BSF has introduced smaller unit sizes for its top-performing shellfish items, said Candice Nagel, vice president of marketing.

That gives retailers more flexibility in pricing while making premium shellfish more approachable for shoppers.

“It’s a win-win,” Nagel said. “Customers enjoy a restaurant-style shellfish meal at home without sticker shock, and retailers can maintain movement without sacrificing margin.”

BSF has also expanded its Sea Best Seafood Festival line to include high-velocity, seasonal items like its Low Country Boil, all-in-one, pre-seasoned boil bags that combine multiple shellfish species in a single SKU, making it easy for consumers to recreate the seafood boil experience at home with minimal prep.

For buyers, the Sea Best Seafood Festival line offers a true value-add, Nagel said. Unlike traditional value-added items that focus on flavor alone, Seafood Festival products are produced at a single location that can efficiently co-pack multiple shellfish species. That streamlined sourcing reduces complexity at the store level while giving retails a differentiated, ready-to-go item ideal for cross-merchandising.

Snow crab clusters in a retail-ready box remain one of BSF’s top-performing items, Nagel said. Each box is hand-packed to ensure that only full, premium clusters make it through — broken or undersized pieces are removed during packing.

That attention to quality elevates the product’s shelf appeal, reinforcing the value proposition for consumers, who get a restaurant-style snow crab experience at home for a fraction of the cost.

BSF’s spiny lobster tails, meanwhile, which are sourced from the company’s sister company, Tropic Seafood in the Bahamas, remain a customer favorite across retail channels, Nagel said.

Known for their rich, buttery flavor and consistent sizing, spiny lobster tails provide a fine-dining experience that shoppers trust and return for, she added, making them an anchor item for any premium frozen seafood set.

“Our Sea Best Seafood Festival line has also been growing in popularity because it provides consumers with the convenience of having all the ingredients for a seafood boil in one bag.”

Other popular shellfish products from BSF include:

• Sea Best Snow Crab Clusters. Fully cooked clusters, harvested from the icy waters of Alaska and Canada.
• Sea Best Warm Water Lobster Tails. Caught in the clear-blue pristine waters of the Bahamas, this spiny lobster delivers a sweet-tasting, firm tail that is superior in taste, texture, and appearance.
• Sea Best Premium Raw Shrimp. BSF’s premium raw shrimp line provides a variety of shell-on, peeled, and deveined shrimp, in 12 oz. and 1 and 2-lb. packages. Size offerings range from 16/20, 21/25, 26/30, 30/40, 31/40, 40/50, 41/50, and salad.
• Low Country Boil. Featuring Roger Wood smoked sausage, crab, shrimp, and corn on the cob.
• Shrimp & Crab Pot. A flavorful mix of shrimp, snow crab, and mussels with a delicate seasoning blend.
• Steamer Pot. A select combination of shrimp, lobster claws, clams, and mussels.

Lasting impact

The shift toward at-home seafood consumption that accelerated during COVID has had a lasting impact on retail buying habits, particularly in the shrimp category, Nagel said.

“As consumers grew more comfortable preparing seafood at home, they prioritized versatility, leading to a notable increase in demand for raw shrimp over cooked formats.”

Nielsen data confirms this shift, with raw shrimp sales growing faster than cooked shrimp over the past three years due to shoppers’ increased use of shrimp as a core ingredient in broader meal preparation applications.

In response, BSF has expanded its raw, peeled, tail-off shrimp line to meet this growing demand. New SKUs are designed for maximum convenience, allowing consumers to skip the mess of shelling and go straight to cooking, making them ideal for use in pastas, stir-fries, and salads.

At the same time, the company is also seeing strong momentum behind ready-to-eat shrimp cocktail products. Today’s consumers seek high-protein, low-prep snacking and entertaining options, Nagel said, and shrimp cocktail hits both marks.

“Our cocktail shrimp are delivered frozen to retailers and can be thawed in the store’s cooler without any additional labor. Each retail pack includes cocktail sauce and is ready for grab-and-go consumption — perfect for in-and-out shoppers, holiday hosts, or impulse buyers.”

From a buyer’s perspective, this frozen-to-fresh format also delivers operational advantages: it minimizes shrink, requires no back-of-house prep, and offers excellent margin potential. As consumers increasingly prioritize versatility and convenience, Nagel said, BSF’s shrimp portfolio enables retailers to meet those demands while driving profitable growth.

“Our approach goes beyond introducing new species. We are focused on reimagining how popular shellfish varieties can be combined to create meal solutions that are exciting and approachable for everyday consumers. By making preparing shellfish at home simple and approachable, we aim to eliminate the intimidation many shoppers feel.”

Seafood remains one of the simplest proteins to cook, yet many consumers still perceive it as complex or restaurant-only. That’s why BSF continues to invest in messaging across in-store signage, on-pack instructions, and digital platforms to demystify preparation and build shopper confidence, Nagel said.

For retail buyers, these innovations present an opportunity to expand the shellfish set and introduce meal-ready items that simplify the path to purchase. By offering products that combine multiple shellfish components in a single, easy-to-cook format, the company enables consumers to enjoy a restaurant-quality experience while also taking out the guesswork.

“Our goal is to support our retail partners in driving category growth through education, convenience, and product offerings that turn first-time trials into repeat purchases.”