Think of seafood as literally a sea of foods consumers love, any time of the day or night. Seafood may have always seemed easy to cook, but is it? While 73% of consumers like its taste, only 45% of consumers said they can cook. Consumers look for seafood in a wide range of distinct global varieties including sushi in Japan, ceviche in the Caribbean, and escabeche in Latin America – just choose the right combination of flavors and they’re off on a culinary voyage.
Well, our search for new seafood experiences doesn’t stop at just the most popular ones. We craft sauces, dips, dressings, marinades, and drizzles to be enjoyed with any number of raw and cooked seafood dishes, as we help you guide your guests’ palates on a trip transcending borders and times, places and spaces, cuisines and cultures.
Now, let’s surf through some of our favorite and also trending seafood combos and discover foodie fun you might never have imagined.
Shrimp – Small but Mighty
You can find these tiny, flavor-packed crustaceans almost everywhere – beautiful pink gems from both fresh and salt water. Top five types for seafood: pink, white, brown, rock, and our favorite, tiger shrimp. Each has its own charm, but all get noticed for their mild, sweet flavor and firm texture – making them a perfect family pack inspiring untold opportunities for preparations and flavors. Serve them grilled, pan-seared, as an add-on for pasta, or mixed in with salads – every incarnation, ingredient, and idea can help elevate your vision. At Giraffe Foods, we base our research on making your menu flavor-forward, helping you cross-utilize ingredients and add indulgent profiles to create unique takes on traditional dishes.
Here’s a platter full of shrimp dishes and sauce inspiration for you to include on your menus, in your meal kits, and in frozen ready-to-eat foods.
Spanish Paella
The gorgeous golden hue of saffron, the hint of spice from chili flakes, and the zesty finish of lemon bring a classic Spanish Paella to life. Dig into fluffy, tender rice to find treasures of succulent, well-marinated shrimps, seasoned to perfection with paprika and the natural, salty essence of the sea. Add extra drizzles of decadence by topping it with a custom-flavored, creamy Garlic Aioli. All that’s left is to pair the dish with a glass of chilled, fruity sangria – and it’s ready for your guests to indulge!
Double Duty
Make shrimp the star of the dish with flavor-packed marinades and sauces. Bring the Caribbean heat to BBQ shrimp skewers with our Jalapeno Tamarind Marinade, or top a creamy pasta with Lemon Garlic shrimp to add zest and freshness to the recipe. Foodie Nation has a persistent passion for Asian flavors, including all things teriyaki. Why not swap out your go-to protein meal kits with tender shrimp marinated in our Teriyaki Sauce for irresistible stir-fries or Asian bowls?
Our Sauces Add Value Like Nothing Else
Entice consumers to experiment with flavors in convenient single-serve or family-size frozen foods. Our custom-made marinades and sauces make a safe-and-easy gateway to flavor exploration. Offer rich variety with a tomato-based Creole Sauce or keep it light with a Garlic Butter Sauce – paired with smooth, cheesy grits, it’s a Southern classic. Consumers are really into innovation, with exciting brunch ideas – like shrimp cakes as a base for those beloved eggs benny, topped with a Spicy Smoky Hollandaise Sauce. For a lighter lunch option, get them munching on simple Salt and Pepper or Buffalo shrimp, stuffed in lettuce wraps and topped with crunchy pickled veg.
Salmon – Swimming Against the Current
Salmon – Swimming Against the CurrentKnown for nutrition, admired for its varied coral color, and enjoyed both raw and cooked, salmon comes to our kitchens from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. A few species are more popular than others – Atlantic, King or Chinook, Sockeye, and Coho all boast a similar luxurious texture and rich, buttery flavor, but they vary in application. For instance, Sockeye is used to craft delicious Sashimi, while Atlantic serves superbly in a Thai-inspired Coconut Curried Salmon. With its abundant health and functional dietary benefits, salmon continues to attract consumers – especially in dishes built on globally inspired flavors.
Time to sauce your salmon and elevate their appeal! See how easily our marinades, dips, dressings, and custom sauces help you make it happen.
Sun’s Out, Gills Out
Soak up that summer simplicity with a grilled salmon sandwich. Top it with sweet, tangy Mango Relish for a bright, fresh take on this classic sandwich build. For a lighter meal, toss the seared salmon with leafy greens and the relish for added acidity and sweetness. A great to-go option for picnics or for enjoying poolside during a stay-cation – and just one of our countless ideas for delivering your shoppers fun, flavor-packed meals!
One-Sauce Wonder
Indulge spice-seeking consumers with our Spicy Chili Miso Sauce on a fresh salmon bowl or fillet. Either option makes a healthy-yet-delicious, one-plate, grab ‘n’ go meal – the ultimate deli fresh item for office lunches. Double the impact of this intense flavor maker by using it as a marinade for fresh salmon strips in an Asian-inspired takeout meal—pair with sautéed Bok choy to seal the deal.
Level Up Your Dinners
Add a touch of class to salmon fillets as part of a main-course dish with a tangy, velvety Lemon Dill Sauce, or use it as a dipping sauce for salmon cakes made from canned salmon. The smoothness of the cream and vibrancy of the lemon elevate a budget-friendly find to a fine dining experience.
Tuna – These Flavors Won’t Get Canned
Great in salads or as a sandwich, seared or raw, tuna presents boundless culinary possibilities. Consumers typically choose from four familiar varieties: Pacific Bluefin, SkipJack, Yellowfin, and Albacore. Albacore is often canned or seared while Yellowfin, also known as Ahi, works well in raw dishes like sushi. A little unpredictable in taste from one type to another, tuna still reliably captures some of the bold, salty character of the sea. This seafood staple is a proven flavor carrier for inventive marinades, dressings, sauces, and drizzles.
Let’s explore the world of flavors that can help you create truly tempting, standout tuna recipes.
Trending on Consumer Demand
The Tuna Poke bowl puts traditional tropical Hawaiian seasonings front and center. Serve freshly diced tuna on a bed of rice with toppings like seaweed and sesame – and make the whole dish unforgettable with a drizzle of Ginger Miso Dressing. Or give your diners a fresh sense of summer with a lively tuna crudo al fresco because Poke bowl has seen an 87% growth on menu mentions.
Make It Pop
Whether it’s at the deli counter or in the frozen food aisle, deliver the definition of “flavor burst” with Wasabi Mayo – on a classic tuna melt with ooey gooey cheese, or that perfectly grilled tuna burger topped with crunchy cucumber slaw.
Walking to the Middle Eastern Flavors
Elevate your fine-dining meals with a pepper-crusted tuna fillet paired with a garlicky-herbed Tahini Dressing. Or use this multi-purpose dressing in your Chicken and Tuna green salad – we promise these two will top your list of popular orders.
Speaking of chicken, here’s a chance to be inspired by our custom-flavored Chicken Wing sauces to help plan your next product launch – read here.
Beyond these three wildly popular seafood proteins lie endless possibilities for lobster, oysters, cod, and much more. Give your foodie shoppers plenty more reasons to dive in.
Tail of Two Sauces – Try a Garlic-Lemonade Marinade to complement the natural sweetness of lobster tails, or turn the heat up on the legendary lobster roll with our herby, flavorful Jerk Sauce.
Read the Room – Serve up the ideal flavors for the time and place, like beer-battered cod with a classic Tartar Sauce to top the pub-night menu – great with crispy GBD (Golden Brown & Delicious) fries or a smooth garlic mash – or Cod en Papillote for the more refined experience of enjoying a moist, tender fish with White Wine Sauce.
Half-Shell Heaven – Get consumers slurping and sipping at your buck-a-shuck blowout by adding custom flavors to your oyster offering. Eaten raw with a splash of Hot Sauce, lemon wedges, or a Mignonette Sauce, these modest molluscs can also be broiled with a creamy topping – and upcycled as Oysters Rockefeller.
The seafood category has just started receiving its due in true flavor exploration – make the most of it now and get ahead of your competition. Reach out to our food guides and discover the sea of possibilities today!
