Category Catalysts: Surimi - Aquamar

This year, Aquamar has played an integral role in making seafood entrees approachable for consumers by removing real and perceived barriers when it comes to affordability and safely preparing seafood dishes. 

“Our surimi products have been standout performers this year,” Aquamar CEO Daryl Gormley recently said. “By addressing multiple consumer needs simultaneously, Aquamar surimi delivers on a great tasting product, while removing the complexity that often keeps families from including seafood into their meals. Beyond convenience, the versatility of surimi has been a major driver of success. Consumers love that they can easily incorporate our products into salads, pasta dishes, stir-fries, wraps and countless other family favorites.”

While it’s fair to say suppliers are tasked with coming up with the next best thing to wow consumers, Aquamar does more than that. The company steadfastly challenges itself to not only deliver on product and flavor innovation, but to also find inventive methods to make meals easier and smoother for consumers.

“While much of the seafood industry has remained focused on fishing, Aquamar has positioned itself as an innovation leader by prioritizing consumer convenience and accessibility,” Gormley said. “Our product strategy centers on solving real consumer pain points rather than simply offering more of the same. We’ve invested in developing formats and flavors that bridge the gap between consumers’ desire to eat more seafood and their confidence in preparing it at home. This means creating products that don’t just taste good, but that busy families can easily incorporate into weeknight dinners. Our approach recognizes that innovation in this category isn’t just about the product itself; it’s about reimagining how seafood fits into consumers’ eating habits.”

One piece of being a leader involves learning how to master the balance of imparting extensive know-how with being flexible enough to know when to disrupt the way things have always been done, Gormley said.

“Category leadership requires balancing deep industry knowledge with a willingness to challenge conventional thinking,” he explained. “Our heritage of innovation and years of experience give us insight into seafood sourcing, global supply chains and consumer needs; it’s not maintaining the status quo. Leadership means using strengths to think outside the box and pioneer new products and approaches. We see our role as collaborating to expand the entire seafood category by making it more accessible to consumers, which ultimately benefits everyone in the industry.”

Aquamar remains two steps ahead of its competitors by perceiving hurdles as an opportunity to enlighten, rather than remain stagnant while over complicating the problem in front of them.

“Rather than viewing economic uncertainty as an obstacle, we see it as an opportunity to demonstrate seafood’s value proposition more clearly,” Gormley said. “In challenging economic times, consumers become more price-conscious, which actually works in our favor when they realize our products are meaningfully cheaper than beef and competitively priced with other proteins. We’re actively working to offset potential cost pressures from tariffs by leveraging abundant global seafood supply and our domestic production capabilities. The current environment has also accelerated consumer interest in cooking at home, which plays directly into our convenience-focused strategy. We’re using it to showcase why accessible, affordable seafood solutions are exactly what consumers need right now.”