East Coast Lobster

Edward Marinos

Michael Ames
Shimon Kurian
Muneeb Hassan

December 2, 2014
1. This case is about the lobster export problems and solutions. Canada is the world’s largest lobster exporting country (33% of total exports). Lobsters must be fed and kept in an oxygen-rich environment so exporting becomes difficult and costly. With companies wanting to become known as environmentally friendly, air freight has become a less desirable way of transport as it creates a larger carbon footprint. The main idea of this case is to find the most desirable seafood market and export to those countries at the lowest cost.

2. The best alternative market as of right now that Canada can enter which has untapped potential would be the Asian continent.
Firstly, the Asian countries would be the main destination to market the lobsters due to their large amount of imports and seafood consumption. Unlike Europe, Asia does not have major exporters or competitors in the seafood industry. Countries like Portugal and Spain are the dominant countries in seafood exporting because seafood becomes their absolute advantage and only option to reel in profits. By understanding this, I believe Canada should shift their focus from Europe, mainly because they would not be able to gain market share or power to control the seafood market right away.
Secondly, Oriental countries such as China, Japan, and Thailand are already familiar with the seafood market but not so familiar with the lobster concept. With the right marketing strategies and advertisement drive, the large and diverse Oriental population can be approached successfully. The Oriental style of food plates and dishes involve sides and meals with seafood thus incorporating lobster to the menu is not a difficult task.
Lastly, Middle East and India are target locations that carry the most risk but if achievable, it will be the most rewarding. Middle East is a risk mainly because they are mainly meat consumers. Beef, goat and lamb are the main sources of imports and consumption in these regions. Therefore, introducing a seafood market could be very risky if no one is willing to give it a chance. At the same time, this could be advantageous because Canadian companies can benefit if the seafood market does get an opportunity to be invested in. India is the other nation that carries the risk because they are not aware of lobsters and lobsters could be viewed expensive to them. But, when Western corporations and organizations enter the Indian business market, they have found it easier to start a new trend which the Indian population can adapt and respond to by purchasing and giving the product a try.
3. The main market entry strategy the Atlantic Fisheries Marketing Board will use is directly exporting whole lobsters into European markets. The Board will contact many fresh seafood outlets in the desired country to set up desired relationships, storage tanks and investments to make this venture worthwhile. The exporting will be done by shipping the live lobsters by cargo ships using the new transport system overseas. This is a very lucrative option since there are very few competitors, and this product will have unparalleled quality due to the shipping specifications mentioned in the article.

4. Canadian Atlantic fisheries have been providing exquisite, gourmet lobsters to those with a sophisticated palate for centuries.