2026 Seafood Excellence Awards Winners Unveiled
March 19, 2026 | 3 min to read
The Seafood Excellence Awards recognize the product leaders in the North American seafood market.
Winners in the Best New Retail and Best New Foodservice Categories Honored with a Reception in Wave Makers’ Zone at the 44th Edition of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America
Boston, MA – Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, North America’s largest seafood trade event, produced by Diversified, announced the winners of the 2026 Seafood Excellence Awards and recognized the products with a reception in the Wave Makers’ Zone as part of the three-day expo taking place March 15-17 in Boston, MA. Icy Waters, LLC won the “Best New Retail Product” award for The Good Fish Company – Coconut Margarita Haddock and Trident Seafoods won the “Best New Foodservice Product” award for its Crispy Battered Sauceable Nuggets.
The 2026 winners were selected from a group of 12 finalists during a live judging this morning by a panel of seafood buyers and industry experts from the retail and foodservice industries. This year’s judges included Anthony Snow, Sourcing Director for Seafood with Albertson’s; Tim Gill, Director of Food Service Operations for Hissho Sushi and Mark Hogan, Director of Proteins with SGC Foodservice. The new products are judged based on several criteria, including uniqueness and appropriateness to the market, taste profile, market potential, convenience, nutritional value and originality.
Out of a total of 108 entries, 12 finalists were previously selected through a screening of market-ready products participating in the Seafood Expo North America New Product Showcase. The New Product Showcase features seafood products, condiments and culinary dishes that have been introduced 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 (booth #3165) through March 17.
View all the entries of the Seafood Excellence Awards.
The Seafood Excellence Awards serves as the North American extension of the Seafood Excellence Global Awards competition, held at Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain and the Seafood Excellence Asia Awards competition, held at Seafood Expo Asia in Singapore. All three awards are organized by Diversified, producers of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America, Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global and Seafood Expo Asia/Seafood Processing Asia.
Seafood industry buyers and professionals can learn more about Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America and register to attend by visiting seafoodexpo.com/north-america.
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About Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America
Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America is North America’s largest seafood exposition. Thousands of buyers and suppliers from around the world attend the annual, three-day exhibition to meet, network and do business. Attending buyers represent importers, exporters, wholesalers, restaurants, supermarkets, hotels, and other retail and foodservice companies. Exhibiting suppliers offer the newest seafood products, processing and packaging equipment, and services available in the seafood market. The exposition’s Strategic Partner is the National Fisheries Institute. SeafoodSource is the official media. The exposition is produced by Diversified, the international leader in seafood-industry expositions and media including Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global and Seafood Expo Asia/Seafood Processing Asia. For more information, visit: www.seafoodexpo.com/north-america.
About Diversified
Diversified is a global B2B events and media company that strengthens business communities by fostering a space, in person and online, for professionals and businesses to connect and grow. The company serves as a trusted partner across several industries including active lifestyle, business management, clean energy, commercial marine, healthcare, seafood, technology and more. Established in 1949 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, the global company has divisions and offices around the world in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Diversified is a third-generation, family-owned business. For more information, visit: www.divcom.com.