Chicken of the Sea Launches Wellness Initiative
Responding directly to sweeping new dietary guidelines that call for significantly increased seafood consumption, Chicken of the Sea is challenging Americans to explore a happier, healthier year in 2016 and is rewarding those who do with a chance to realize both small and big dreams alike for themselves and their families.
The San Diego-based seafood provider’s Sea the Possibilities Challenge lifestyle and wellness initiative asks participants to broaden their horizons through bold new foods, everyday experiences and once-in-a-lifetime adventures that can contribute to a richer, more satisfying life – both in the kitchen and beyond.
New seafood experiences
Topping the list of suggested new experiences are exotic seafood recipes and serving suggestions that are part of an ongoing effort by Chicken of the Sea to increase America’s nutritional health through greater consumption of fresh and packaged fish – and, ultimately, to get Americans’ seafood diet to come closer to resembling that of the rest of the world.
The new initiative follows the Jan. 7 release of Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, which encourage Americans to choose seafood in place of other protein foods for two meals (or 8 ounces) per week. The new report concludes that average seafood consumption is below recommendations for all U.S. age-sex groups and suggests dramatic changes in the American diet to increase this intake – such as choosing a salmon steak or tuna sandwich over traditional choices.
“These latest guidelines confirm what Chicken of the Sea has known for years: Americans simply aren’t getting enough seafood,” said Christie Fleming, Chicken of the Sea’s senior VP of marketing. “While we want the public to eat more fish for their own health and wellness, it’s certainly not the only goal of the Sea the Possibilities program. Ultimately, we’re challenging our consumers to boldly step out of their daily routines and then rewarding those who come up with the most original new ideas with cash awards and other incentives to dream even bigger in 2016.”
3 levels of challenges
According to Fleming, consumers visiting the Sea the Possibilities Challenge Contest microsite can select a challenge at one of three levels and then post an original written story, photo or video that shows how they met that challenge. Submissions will be judged for originality and other criteria by Chicken of the Sea, and weekly and monthly winners will be eligible to receive a grand prize cash award that can be applied directly toward future adventures.
- In the Kitchen Challenges. From new recipes and friendly cooking competitions to date night dinners, Farmer’s Market excursions and ways to swap out regular protein with healthier seafood options, Chicken of the Sea pushes the envelope on family meal-planning and nutrition in 2016.
- Better Everyday Challenges. The daily routine doesn’t have to be a grind with these everyday ideas to turn the ordinary into the extraordinary. Chicken of the Sea offers a world of ideas for lunchtime friendship bonding, adult field trips, gratitude exercises, home-alone survival training and more.
- Go Big Challenges. These breakout challenges encourage folks to do (or be) something truly amazing in 2016. From the obviously outrageous (scuba, skydive or surf) to the quietly heroic (training for a marathon, feeding the homeless or planning a family reunion), Chicken of the Sea has what it take to create epic memories.
Contest participants will be given specific challenge ideas at each level while monthly themes – “Get Healthy” in January, “Give Kindness” in February and “Live Large” in March – will promote a sense of community. Chicken of the Sea has compiled a list of tangible Sea the Possibilities opportunities in every state, ranging from a guided snorkeling adventure in Hawaii to a wine-tasting tour in California and a lobster-cooking class in Maine.
The brand also christened three Sea the Possibilities Challenge Influencers to show contest participants and the general public what’s possible at each level.
Sara O’Donnell of Average Betty, the Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Kitchen Influencer, is flexing her culinary muscle by creating meal plans featuring tilapia, salmon and other less-common seafood varieties, while Everyday Influencer Lee Hersh of Fit Foodie Finds in St. Louis Park, Minn., is developing an at-desk workout routine for her and her co-workers.
Meanwhile, Epic Influencer Kiersten Rich of The Blonde Abroad adventure travel blog in Temecula, Calif., is looking to conquer her significant fear of heights and depths by diving a shipwreck 100 feet below the Hawaiian ocean surface and then climbing Oahu’s famous 2,000-foot “Stairway to Heaven,” Moanalua Ridge.
The three Influencers are filming and posting their personal challenges on the Sea the Possibilities website to encourage other possibility thinkers to enroll. More than a dozen other food, family and fitness bloggers and social influencers will be participating in Sea the Possibilities and encouraging their millions of thousands of like-minded followers to do the same.
“Talking about seizing the possibilities is one thing, but offering tangible; easy ways for Americans to embrace a more vibrant, happier and healthier life is something else entirely,” Fleming said. “As a brand that has always appealed to the explorer and adventure-seeker, we want to make it easy for consumers to live out loud in 2016 for the benefit of body, mind and soul.”