Satiating the ferocious appetite for seafood
Red Lobster, the world’s largest seafood restaurant chain and fresh seafood purchaser, has opened its first location in China at Shanghai’s IFC Mall.
The new outlet, which is a joint venture with FWM Group, is the 51-year-old American brand’s 751st store globally.
According to Red Lobster, all the seafood at the Shanghai restaurant is imported. Instead of “copying and pasting its home market recipes”, however, the management team pointed out that they have made tweaks to their offerings to cater to local consumers.
For instance, The Cheddar Bay Biscuit, the brand’s famous free appetizer which has its own page on Facebook with 4 million followers, has had its salt content reduced, while the signature Ultimate Feast has been elevated with a more confounder temporary presentation.
There are also new dishes specifically designed for Shanghai diners, such as the oven-roasted Icelandic Halibut and a chilled seafood tower which comprises lobstertail, snow crab, oysters and shrimp.
“China is an incredibly important market for Red lobster and us. There is a huge demand for seafood in China, especially premium seafood, and this demand is still growing,” explained David Martin, co- and chief operation officer of FWM Group.
When it comes to seafood, the Chinese have the biggest appetite in the world. According to a 2018 report published by Netherlandsbased Rabobank, China is the world’s largest consumer of seafood, devouring 37 percent of the global total production of seafood and aquatic produce.
According to Australian Broadcasting Corporation News, 98 percent of the 6,300 tons of lobsters caught in Western Australia in 2017 — the equivalent of the weight of around 1,000 elephants — were shipped to China. The volume of lobster exports to China has also been soaring since the free trade agreement between the two nations was signed in 2015.
In New Zealand, lobsters account for more than two-thirds of its seafood exports to China, according to New Zealand Trade & Enterprise.
“I feel very confident with Red Lobster. There are so many things that resonate here. Lobster has always been a well-received dish with Chinese consumers,” said Martin, who opened the first Morton steakhouse in Shanghai in 2010.
“Like any mega city, Shanghai offers the choice of a 20-yuan ($2.95) bowl of noodles as well as a 2,000yuan high-end French meal. You can have and enjoy both, and I think that indicates how the market has become a more diverse and sophisticated one,” added the veteran restaurateur.
A report by RET Real Estate Consultancy showed that Shanghai residents outspend their peers from other Chinese cities when it comes to dining at restaurants in shopping malls, averaging 87 yuan per meal.
According to Martin, Red Lobster will be looking to open another two to three outlets in Shanghai within the year. The company is also considering expanding to locations such as Beijing and Shenzhen.