Social Kitchens Professional/SK Foods Brands won the “Best New Foodservice Product” award for its Premium Shrimp Sliders at the Seafood Expo North America (SENA) on opening day of the March 10-12 trade show in Boston, Massachusetts. Members of the company are pictured above celebrating the victory.
Distributed to restaurants and other foodservice operators frozen in packs containing two dozen 1.75 oz (50g) servings (seen below), the sliders boast solid chunks of shrimp seasoned with onion, red bell pepper and spices.
Receiving the top prize in the Retail category was Cumbia, California-based Highland Farms for its Salmon Salami entry. The winners were selected from a group of 11 finalists during a live judging by a panel of seafood buyers and industry experts from the retail and foodservice industries. The jurists included Jason Driskill, vice president, seafood at HEB; Bob Donegan, president of Ivar’s Restaurants; and Robin Fisher, director of corporate purchasing at HF Foods Group.
The new products were judged based on several criteria, including uniqueness and appropriateness to the market, taste profile, market potential, convenience, nutritional value and originality.
The Seafood Excellence Awards serves as the North American extension of the Seafood Excellence Global Awards competition, held at Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain. In 2023, the Seafood Excellence Asia Awards was introduced during the 11th edition of Seafood Expo Asia in Singapore. All three competitions are organized by Portland, Maine-based Diversified Communications, producer of each trade show.
This year marks the 42nd running of SENA, which combined with combined with Seafood Processing North America (SPNA) features leading seafood suppliers, service providers, processing and packaging equipment companies and warehousing and logistics specialists.
Exhibit space spans 249,665 net square feet, five percent more than last year’s event, with 1,210 exhibiting companies from 49 countries.
“The success of the 2024 edition demonstrates the value of having a dedicated space for seafood professionals to network, conduct business and learn about new products, equipment and services in-person,” said Wynter Courmont, vice president of seafood at Diversified Communications. “We’ve put together a robust three-day expo connecting top industry leaders, seafood suppliers from around the world and seafood buyers from every corner of the industry – restaurants, supermarkets, catering firms, seafood markets, hotels, airlines and cruise lines.”
