Red Lobster has increased the size of the shrimp it uses in its skewers and scampi dishes, the company said Monday.
The casual-dining chain, with more than 700 restaurants in North America, said it was responding to consumer requests for larger shrimp. It is now using size 31/35 shrimp for its scampi, instead of 46/55, meaning the new shrimp weighs in at 31 pieces to 35 pieces per pound, instead of 46 to 55 pieces per pound. Lunch skewers have been increased to 36/40 from 51/60, and dinner skewers to 26/30 from 46/55.
“Our guests shared they wanted Shrimp Scampi and Shrimp skewers to be bigger, so we increased the size,” Red Lobster president Salli Setta said in a press release. “And, they wanted them to be better, so we changed our preparation to improve taste and give the shrimp a better bite. We know guests are going to love these changes so much that they will have another great reason to visit Red Lobster.”
The chain said the change would affect nearly 70 percent of all shrimp orders at Red Lobster, which serves more than 80 million servings of shrimp each year.
Red Lobster also said it was moving production of its cocktail sauce and scampi sauce in-house and increasing the amount of sauce on each scampi dish by half an ounce.
The skewers are double-pierced into a “C” shape, which the chain said helps the shrimp cook better.
Red Lobster would not say whether the change would affect menu pricing.
“As a private company, Red Lobster doesn’t disclose information about their shrimp supply and pricing and its impact on their financials,” a company spokeswoman said.
Golden Gate Capital bought Red Lobster from Darden Restaurants Inc. in July 2014. Since then, the chain has reworked its menu to focus more on seafood — increasing the menu mix to 85 percent seafood from 75 percent. It also upgraded its salmon offerings, offering Alaska sockeye in July and Alaska coho in August.
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