Chicken of the Sea
Encyclopedia
Chicken of the Sea is a brand of canned
tuna
produced by a company owned by Thai Union Group
.
, the company markets a variety of other seafood items under the Chicken of the Sea brand name, including clam, crab, mackerel, salmon, sardines and tuna. The original company was founded in 1914 when Frank Van Camp and his son bought the California Tuna Canning Company and changed the name to the Van Camp Seafood Company. The phrase Chicken of the Sea, first devised as a way to describe the taste, was so successful that soon it also became the company name.
In 1963, Van Camp Seafood Company was purchased by Ralston Purina
. In 1988, Ralston sold its Van Camp division to an Indonesian corporation, P.T. Mantrust, which had financial problems, and the primary creditor, Prudential Life Insurance, became the majority owner.
In 1997 the company was purchased by the investment group Tri-Union Seafoods LLC, made up of three partners:
The new owners changed the name of Van Camp Seafood Company to Chicken of the Sea International. In 2000, Tri-Marine International Inc and Edmund A. Gann sold their 50 percent interest in Chicken of the Sea to Thai Union International, Inc., leaving Thai Union the sole owner of the company. Chicken of the Sea International and Tri-Union International LLC merged into one company, still called Chicken of the Sea International.
With the 2003 acquisition of Empress International, an importer of frozen shrimp and other shellfish, Chicken of the Sea's total annual sales climbed to $600 million. In 2006, Thai Union formed a new division, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, to focus on sales of premium quality fresh and frozen seafood products. This division has grown quickly, helping to further grow Chicken of the Sea's brand awareness and distribution in the foodservice and retail industries.
, a blonde mermaid
with a golden scepter, was introduced in the 1950s and soon became a familiar product icon. The company's official explanation for the name of their product:
Her question and Lachey's attempt to explain, brought so much media coverage that Chicken of the Sea's Senior Vice President of Marketing, Don George, capitalized on the incident. He invited Simpson to the company's October 2003 San Diego sales conference for promotional purposes. For an undisclosed fee, Simpson attended, receiving a standing ovation from the company's employees. After George explained the meaning of the product's name, he and Simpson sang the company's jingle, "Ask Any Mermaid," and she was given an apron and a basket of Chicken of the Sea products. She autographed cans for the employees. After the meeting, a video news release featuring a Don George interview and highlights of Simpson's appearance at the sales meeting was distributed. The story was picked up by close to 750 prime time affiliates, 10 national television shows, including E!
and Inside Edition
, and more than 22 cable shows. The company's PR firm estimated that this promotional event reached an audience of more than 38 million television viewers.
Canning
Canning is a method of preserving food in which the food contents are processed and sealed in an airtight container. Canning provides a typical shelf life ranging from one to five years, although under specific circumstances a freeze-dried canned product, such as canned, dried lentils, can last as...
tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
produced by a company owned by Thai Union Group
Thai Union Group
Thai Union Group are a Thailand based producer of various fish based food products.Thailand’s largest canned-and frozen-seafood producer, it has processing plants in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the United States. Its 2010 purchase of MW Brands of France from Trilantic Capital Partners added...
.
Company
Based in San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, the company markets a variety of other seafood items under the Chicken of the Sea brand name, including clam, crab, mackerel, salmon, sardines and tuna. The original company was founded in 1914 when Frank Van Camp and his son bought the California Tuna Canning Company and changed the name to the Van Camp Seafood Company. The phrase Chicken of the Sea, first devised as a way to describe the taste, was so successful that soon it also became the company name.
In 1963, Van Camp Seafood Company was purchased by Ralston Purina
Nestlé Purina PetCare
Nestlé Purina PetCare Company is the pet food division of Swiss-based Nestlé S.A., following its acquisition of the American Ralston Purina Company on December 12, 2001 and subsequent merger with Nestlé's Friskies PetCare Company. As a wholly owned subsidiary, it is headquartered at the General...
. In 1988, Ralston sold its Van Camp division to an Indonesian corporation, P.T. Mantrust, which had financial problems, and the primary creditor, Prudential Life Insurance, became the majority owner.
In 1997 the company was purchased by the investment group Tri-Union Seafoods LLC, made up of three partners:
- Thai Union International Inc., a ThaiThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
conglomerate based in BangkokBangkokBangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and the then largest tuna packer in AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and second largest in the world - Edmund A. GannEdmund A. GannEdmund A. Gann is an American businessman and Thoroughbred racehorse owner.-Early life and career:...
, American owner of Caribbean Marine Service, Co., Inc., a tuna-fishing fleet - Tri-Marine International, Inc., a global trading company formed in SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in 1972 dealing in tuna and tuna products headed by Renato Curto, president and majority shareholder.
The new owners changed the name of Van Camp Seafood Company to Chicken of the Sea International. In 2000, Tri-Marine International Inc and Edmund A. Gann sold their 50 percent interest in Chicken of the Sea to Thai Union International, Inc., leaving Thai Union the sole owner of the company. Chicken of the Sea International and Tri-Union International LLC merged into one company, still called Chicken of the Sea International.
With the 2003 acquisition of Empress International, an importer of frozen shrimp and other shellfish, Chicken of the Sea's total annual sales climbed to $600 million. In 2006, Thai Union formed a new division, Chicken of the Sea Frozen Foods, to focus on sales of premium quality fresh and frozen seafood products. This division has grown quickly, helping to further grow Chicken of the Sea's brand awareness and distribution in the foodservice and retail industries.
Product name
Their advertising mascotMascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
, a blonde mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
with a golden scepter, was introduced in the 1950s and soon became a familiar product icon. The company's official explanation for the name of their product:
- In the "old days," fishermen referred to the white albacore tuna as "chicken of the sea." It was called this because the white color and very mild flavor reminded them of chicken. The founder of the company thought this would be a unique name for a brand of tuna, and the Chicken of the Sea brand is now widely known in the Americas.
Popular references
- In 2003, on the MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
reality televisionReality televisionReality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, Jessica SimpsonJessica SimpsonJessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
and Nick LacheyNick LacheyNicholas Scott "Nick" Lachey is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and television personality. Lachey rose to fame as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees. He later starred in the reality television series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica with his then-wife, Jessica Simpson. He has released...
exchanged this curious dialog:
Her question and Lachey's attempt to explain, brought so much media coverage that Chicken of the Sea's Senior Vice President of Marketing, Don George, capitalized on the incident. He invited Simpson to the company's October 2003 San Diego sales conference for promotional purposes. For an undisclosed fee, Simpson attended, receiving a standing ovation from the company's employees. After George explained the meaning of the product's name, he and Simpson sang the company's jingle, "Ask Any Mermaid," and she was given an apron and a basket of Chicken of the Sea products. She autographed cans for the employees. After the meeting, a video news release featuring a Don George interview and highlights of Simpson's appearance at the sales meeting was distributed. The story was picked up by close to 750 prime time affiliates, 10 national television shows, including E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
and Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
, and more than 22 cable shows. The company's PR firm estimated that this promotional event reached an audience of more than 38 million television viewers.
- In Japan, is a brand of canned tuna produced by Hagoromo Foods.
- In the Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
episode hosted by Jessica SimpsonJessica SimpsonJessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
, she mentions the time she thought Chicken of the Sea brand Tuna was chicken. The announcer asked, "What if you want tuna that is chicken?" and introduced "Tuna of the Dirt brand Chicken" telling her to "Look for the chicken with the fishing cowboy on the cover". Confused, Jessica decided she wants a piece of fruit instead, so he tells her about "Turkey of the Jungle brand Bananas" with the slogan "If fish grew on trees, they'd be Turkey of the Jungle brand Bananas!" which can be found next to "Pork of the Orchard brand Apples" ("Look for the apples with the picture of a turkey on the can!") The mascot is Porky the Scuba diving Chicken, who sings "If you want fruit, not fish nor fowl, Turkey of the Jungle makes this chicken howl! This turkey is good bananas!" This gives Jessica a headache, so the announcer tells her about "Chicken of the Medicine Cabinet brand Turkey-Flavored Aspirin" known as "the turkey-flavored aspirin that comes in a tuna can" ("Look for the tuna can with the chicken can on the label!"). The announcer ends with, "DynaCorp. Bringing you everything from Chicken of Sea brand tuna, to Shoepolish of the Outhouse brand typing paper. DynaCorp. The Kangaroo Rat of the Billiard Room." http://snltranscripts.jt.org/03/03jdynacorp.phtml
- An episode of MADtvMADtvMADtv is an American sketch comedy television series. It licensed the name and logo of Mad, but otherwise had no connection with the humor magazine outside the animated Spy vs. Spy and Don Martin cartoon shorts and images of Alfred E. Neuman that the show featured during the late 1990s. Its first...
also parodied Jessica Simpson's "chicken or fish?" moment in a sketch, starring Jessica AlbaJessica AlbaJessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
as Jessica Simpson.
- A popular Virtual Network ComputingVirtual Network ComputingIn computing, Virtual Network Computing is a graphical desktop sharing system that uses the RFB protocol to remotely control another computer...
(VNC) client for Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
is named Chicken of the VNCChicken of the VNCChicken of the VNC is a Virtual Network Computing client for Mac OS X licensed under the GNU General Public License. Development has been stalled since 2005...
.
- In the The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode Little Orphan MillieLittle Orphan Millie"Little Orphan Millie" is the sixth episode of The Simpsons nineteenth season and was first broadcast on November 11, 2007. For the first time in years, Kirk and Luann reunite. It was written by Mick Kelly, production assistant to Al Jean, and directed by Lance Kramer...
, HomerHomer SimpsonHomer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...
mentions the brand to MilhouseMilhouse Van HoutenMilhouse Mussolini Van Houten is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons, voiced by Pamela Hayden. He is Bart Simpson's best friend in Mrs. Krabappel's fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary School....
.
- In the Season 1 Reunion of The Real Housewives of Orange CountyThe Real Housewives of Orange CountyThe Real Housewives of Orange County is a reality television program on the Bravo network. It is the first and seminal installation in the The Real Housewives of... series...
, following Jo's being unfamiliar with the brand name of S. C. Johnson & SonS. C. Johnson & SonS.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. , previously known as S. C. Johnson Wax , is a privately held, global manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, Wisconsin. It has operations in 72 countries and its brands are sold in over 110...
's Pledge cleaner, Lori asked if she knows of Chicken of The Sea, as a point to address that every American knows these brands.
- In the second season of The Celebrity Apprentice one of the challenges was to come up with a 30-second radio spot and jingle for Chicken of the Sea.