10/02/2023

H-E-B Makes Commitment to Wild Alaskan Pollock

Texas-based grocer partners with Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers

Digital Editor

H-E-B will conduct a year-long promotion for its line of Great Catch Alaska pollock surimi seafood and fillets at its stores throughout Texas.

At its recent Wild Alaska Pollock Annual Meeting, the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) revealed that Texas-based grocer H-E-B has been added to the organization’s 2024 Partnership Program.

The GAPP Partnership Program supports retail and foodservice companies in the United States and globally in their product promotion efforts, matching the partner’s marketing investment dollar for dollar.

Bob Desautel, chairman of the board for Seattle-based GAPP, says the Partnership Program is one of the most important ways that GAPP builds demand and awareness of wild Alaska pollock. “Between the work GAPP does with its ‘always-on influencer marketing program’ and this significant Partnership Program, we are making the brand of wild Alaska pollock stronger, more enduring, and turning our fish into our household name.”

As part of the program, H-E-B will conduct a year-long promotion for its line of Great Catch Wild Alaska Pollock surimi seafood and fillet products made with wild Alaska pollock at its stores throughout the Lone Star State. San Antonio-based H-E-B is the largest privately held employer in Texas. The company has more than 420 stores and 145,000 employees in the state and Mexico. It’s No. 15 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.

In addition to H-E-B, GAPP’s Partnership Program also welcomed fast-food restaurant chain Arby’s, which will use its GAPP matching funds to expand the promotion of its crispy fish sandwich made with Alaska pollock at its locations across North America.

GAPP is a nonprofit that advocates for U.S.-caught wild Alaska pollock. Its mission is to build demand and awareness for the fish through driving product innovation, conducting research, and creating awareness about product quality and the responsibly managed fishery the product comes from. The Wild Alaska Pollock Annual Meeting was held in Seattle on Sept. 28.