2025 Seafood Excellence Awards Winners Revealed
At this year’s Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, trade show producer Diversified revealed the winners of the 2025 Seafood Excellence Awards and recognized them with a reception in the Wave Makers’ Zone (Booth #3165) as part of the three-day expo occurring March 16-18 in Boston.
Bedford, N.H.-based Icy Waters LLC received the Best New Retail Product award for its Atlantic Salmon with a Guinness Sweet Honey Mustard Melt & Panko Crumb, while Waldoboro, Maine-based American Unagi Inc. garnered the Best New Foodservice Product award for its Gluten Free Eel Kabayaki Fillet.
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The 2025 winners were chosen from 11 finalists during a live judging held Sunday morning by a panel of seafood buyers and industry experts from the retail and foodservice industries. This year’s judges were Paul Chapman, VP of seafood at Stop & Shop; Kimberly Price, procurement supervisor at C&S Wholesale Grocers; and Josue Avila Sr. procurement category manager at The Cheesecake Factory. The products were judged on such criteria as uniqueness and appropriateness to the market, taste profile, market potential, convenience, nutritional value, and originality.
Out of a total of 68 entries, 11 finalists were earlier selected through a screening of market-ready products taking part in the Seafood Expo North America New Product Showcase. The showcase features seafood products, condiments and culinary dishes that have rolled out in the past 18 months to the North American market and by companies exhibiting at this year’s expo. Each finalist’s product, and all other new products submitted for the competition, are on display in the Wave Makers’ Zone through March 18.
The Seafood Excellence Awards program is the North American extension of the Seafood Excellence Global Awards competition, held at Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona and the Seafood Excellence Asia Awards competition, held at Seafood Expo Asia in Singapore. All three awards are organized by Portland, Maine-based Diversified, which produces not only Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, but also Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global and Seafood Expo Asia.
