Food Engineering logo
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • NEWS
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • MEDIA
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
  • RESOURCES
  • EMAGAZINE
  • SIGN UP!
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • NEWS
  • Latest Headlines
  • Manufacturing News
  • People & Industry News
  • Plant Openings
  • Recalls
  • Regulatory Watch
  • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
  • New Plant Products
  • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
  • Alternative Protein
  • Automation
  • Cannabis
  • Cleaning | Sanitation
  • Fabulous Food Plants
  • Food Safety
  • Maintenance Strategies
  • OEE
  • Packaging
  • Sustainability
  • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
  • Plant Construction Survey
  • Plant of the Year
  • Sustainable Plant of the Year
  • State of Food Manufacturing
  • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • White Papers
  • EVENTS
  • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
  • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
  • eNewsletter
  • Custom Content & Marketing Services
  • FE Store
  • Government Links
  • Industry Associations
  • Market Research
  • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
  • eMagazine
  • Archive Issue
  • Advertise
Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Packaging

Tuna with zing

By Kevin T. Higgins
tuna with zing
February 6, 2012
Seoul, South Korea-based Dongwon Group, owner of the StarKist brand, fired an autumn volley with Autentico, chunk light tuna with jalapeños, chili peppers and other seasonings with an Hispanic flair. The line debuted in Walmart stores in October, according to Jennifer Albert, marketing director for Pittsburgh-based StarKist. Walmart remains the line’s exclusive retail outlet.
tuna
The Hispanic market is targeted by StarKist with its Autentico line,though the company expects the premium products to appeal to a wider audience looking for more variety and healthier options.

Within weeks, Oregon Seafoods was on grocers’ shelves in the Pacific Northwest with Sea Fare Pacific, six ounces of albacore that is smoked or flavored with jalapeños or sea salt. The preservative-free retorted pouches retail in the $5.50 to $7.00 range, with a smaller pouch set for distribution through sporting goods stores and other retail outlets outside the food sales mainstream.

West Coast “boutique” canneries have dabbled with flavored tuna in recent years, observes Mike Babcock, owner of Coos Bay, OR-based Oregon Seafoods, but both Albert and he see bigger things ahead for flavored tuna. New dietary guidelines from USDA that recommend consumption of more seafood are part of it, but Albert believes a trend toward more “adventurous” eating—along with the burgeoning Hispanic population—will fuel growth in the formerly moribund tuna category.

“These products are designed to provide an alternative to a cheeseburger, and that’s where incremental growth will come,” Albert says. “It’s not just tuna fish; it’s more a complete meal.”

The revival of StarKist’s classic “Sorry, Charlie” ads speaks to healthier eating, with a catch phrase thanking Charlie the tuna for providing a healthy option. But well before the revised food pyramid debuted last year, StarKist and other tuna processors began catering to Americans’ interest in more exotic flavor options. StarKist saluted its parent company’s Asian roots with a sweet and spicy tuna; roasted garlic and lemon flavors in its Select line were meant to evoke Italian fare. The more adventurous tuna commands a premium: The shelf price for Autentico at a Chicago area Walmart in December was $1.38, or 25.1 cents an ounce. Bumble Bee’s varieties, featuring olive oil and sundried tomatoes, jalapeño and chipotle flavors, were pricier still, at 39.6 cents an ounce.

Sea Fare Pacific caters to an even more discerning clientele. A refugee from the lumber business, Babcock followed his passion for food two years ago and developed his own food plant, outfitting the space with two Toyo Jidoki pouch filling and sealing machines and retort equipment. After copacking foodservice pouches with two- and four-pound quantities of tuna, he launched the Sea Fare line in November 2011.

To maintain product quality, Babcock flash freezes whole fish and maintains temperatures below 30°F throughout the processing and packaging process. Cooking and sterilizing are performed in the retort, he explains, resulting in better flavor and up to six times the omega 3 content of conventional processes. He boasts the six-hour smoking process using alder chips produces “a mild, moist meat.” But it’s the jalapeño flavoring that is provoking the most enthusiasm from grocery buyers, he adds.
Tuna packers are hoping the enthusiasm will carry over to store shelves and more shoppers will opt for value-added tuna. 

KEYWORDS: consumer trends containers freezing

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Kevin Higgins was Senior Editor for FE.

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    Global Organic Food & Beverage Market to Grow

    With a CAGR of 12.07%, Bonafide Research estimates this...
    People & Industry News
  • skilled MEP worker

    Predicting Food and Beverage Manufacturing Trends for 2024

    The two words that should be kept in mind are labor and...
    Automation
    By: Derrick Teal
  • cleaning and sanitation

    The basics of cleaning and sanitation in food plants

    Sanitation maintains or restores a state of cleanliness...
    Food Safety
    By: Richard F. Stier
Subscribe For Free!
  • eMagazine
  • eNewsletter
  • Online Registration
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Customer Service

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions May 2025

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

OT Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities in Food Manufacturing Facilities

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Understanding Impacts of OT Cybersecurity Events in Food Manufacturing

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

Food Plant Openings and Expansions April 2025

More Videos

Popular Stories

Vilter IHP in plant

Industrial Heat Pumps: Sustainable Energy Solutions for Now and the Future

FMTE Formed by Four Food Manufacturing Companies

Coalition Unites Europe’s Food Manufacturing Technologies and Equipment Sector

Butterfly pea flower

FDA Approves Three Food Colors from Natural Sources

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ESSENTIAL TOPICS

Alternative ProteinAutomationCleaning/SanitationFabulous Food Plants

Food SafetyMaintenance StrategiesOEE

PackagingSustainability

Events

June 17, 2025

Refrigerated & Frozen Foods’ State of the Cold Chain

Kelley Rodriguez, Editor in Chief of Refrigerated & Frozen Foods, will be joined in this 60-minute webinar by industry experts to help unpack the latest research.

January 1, 2030

Webinar Sponsorship Information

For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com.

View All Submit An Event

Products

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

Recent Advances in Ready-to-Eat Food Technology

See More Products

Plant of the Year

Related Articles

  • Vgarden_Tuna_Salad_1170x658.jpg

    Vgarden Recreates Canned Tuna with Plant Protein

    See More
  • FOOD PACKAGING: Are tuna cans on the way out?

    See More
  • Lettuce wraps using Finless Foods’ plant-based tuna. (Photo: Business Wire)

    Finless Foods to launch plant-based tuna in 2022, complete construction of cell-cultured tuna pilot plant

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • food-book.gif

    The 10 Principles of Food Industry Sustainability

  • 3rd ed.jpg

    Food Process Engineering and Technology, 3E

See More Products
×

Elevate your expertise in food engineering with unparalleled insights and connections.

Get the latest industry updates tailored your way.

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Food Master
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing

Food Engineering logo
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Engineering logo
  • NEWS
    • Latest Headlines
    • Manufacturing News
    • People & Industry News
    • Plant Openings
    • Recalls
    • Regulatory Watch
    • Supplier News
  • PRODUCTS
    • New Plant Products
    • New Retail Products
  • TOPICS
    • Alternative Protein
    • Automation
    • Cannabis
    • Cleaning | Sanitation
    • Fabulous Food Plants
    • Food Safety
    • Maintenance Strategies
    • OEE
    • Packaging
    • Sustainability
    • More
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Plant Construction Survey
    • Plant of the Year
    • Sustainable Plant of the Year
    • State of Food Manufacturing
    • Top 100 Food & Beverage Companies
  • MEDIA
    • Podcasts
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • FOOD MASTER
  • EVENTS
    • Food Automation & Manufacturing Symposium and Expo
    • Industry Events
  • RESOURCES
    • eNewsletter
    • Custom Content & Marketing Services
    • FE Store
    • Government Links
    • Industry Associations
    • Market Research
    • Classified Ads
  • EMAGAZINE
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issue
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!