Alaskan Leader Seafoods Expands Miso Sablefish into Club, Retail Stores

Alaskan Leader Seafoods has begun expanding its miso sablefish foodservice product line into club and retail stores. The product marketing expansion was announced Oct. 23.

The packaged, portioned and marinated Alaska black cod, paired with Hikari Miso, offers a trifecta of restaurant-quality entrees at home, wild Alaska seafood and an infusion of miso, according to Alaskan Leader. Miso is a fermented soybean paste made by fermenting soybeans with koji, an ingredient made from either fermented rice, barley (or other grains) or soybeans.

The combination of Japanese miso with buttery sablefish is a staple white-tablecloth offering on the U.S. West Coast that has been working its way east to fine-dining establishments across the country.

“Add this Hikari Miso marinade to our wild Alaska sablefish and you end up with a five-star restaurant meal served right in your own home,” Alaska Leader Seafoods’ value-added division president, Keith Singleton, said.

“While this fish is traditionally sold overseas, we thought might be an opportune time to expand the domestic market, but in order to have an award-winning consumer product, we would need a flavorful sauce-something special, a newsworthy product,” Singleton said.

For that, Alaskan Leader turned to Japan’s leading producer of certified organic and non-GMO miso Hikari. Hikari, founded in 1936, is based at the foot of the Japanese Alps of Nagano, site of the 1998 Winter Olympics, as well as the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“Winning Alaska’s Symphony of Seafoods People’s Choice Award (in 2022) for our Miso Sablefish really set our sail,” Alaskan Leader Vice President of Sales Scott Sandvig explained in a statement. “The orders are stacking up. We are just getting the product launched and the customer feedback has (already) been incredible.”

Alaskan Leader Seafoods, based in Edmonds, Wash., is one of the larger, more productive domestic longline fishing and seafood businesses in the U.S.