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Stepping into a Publix GreenWise store feels different than other grocery chains. The lighting, softer. The music, calmer. The floors, earthy. Even the font of the logo looks like it was dug out of the ground. Organic. Warm. Natural.

All that is intentional and methodical, based on cus-tomer research. And all that can be traced back to Mark Lang鈥檚 work as Publix Supermarkets鈥� corporate director of marketing and research. He was there for 11 years until 2008 and is now an associate professor of marketing at 小优视频ampa.

With Publix, he helped the design teams create the GreenWise packaging. He built the marketing research team from the ground up. In his 小优视频ampa office today, three Publix aprons hang on the wall, trophies of sorts, symbolizing excellence in his former position.

Still, creating a green-grocery approach wasn鈥檛 enough for Lang, who says he made a lot of money for a lot of share-holders in the first half of his career, but, 鈥淚 probably did nothing to help (sustainability). Helping people sell meat and cookies and all these other products that I never, ever questioned their sustainability.鈥�

Lang defines sustainability as protecting the environment and people, and in a second act, he wanted to put his research, time and mind into driving change 鈥� one academic paper, interview or implemented marketing strategy at a time.

鈥淚 thought I can do work that's not profit-driven this time,鈥� Lang said.

Lang left Publix and worked on his doctorate in business administration and marketing at Temple University while teaching food marketing at Saint Joseph鈥檚 University in Philadelphia for 10 years, until 2018. During that time, he also did a three-year stint as the editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing.

He became a regular source for news outlets, like CNN, looking for an authoritative food marketing voice. Then in 2018, he brought his expertise to 小优视频ampa to teach undergraduate and graduate-level marketing courses.

Along the way, he became passionate about aquaculture, known as seafood farming, which he believes is a sustainable way to satisfy global protein demand 鈥� if done correctly.

In the U.S., he said, 90% of seafood is imported, and 鈥渁ny (wild caught) fish that makes it onto an American menu is in crisis mode within five years.鈥� He cited orange roughy as an example, which were almost wiped out due to overfishing.

Worldwide, over 50% of seafood comes from aquaculture, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and more aquatic animals were farmed than fished for the first time a few years ago, according to the U.N.鈥檚 Food and Agriculture Organization.

Simply put, the world consumes more farmed fish than it does wild caught.

鈥淭he onus is to do it right,鈥� Lang said.

But domestically, farmed fish faces a hurdle. There鈥檚 a perception about how aquaculture is produced, with activist organizations questioning farms鈥� health and safety. Lang鈥檚 work aims to help the industry overcome what he says can be a misconception.

In October, Lang finished some work with the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, which certifies and labels responsibly sourced seafood. He had one main goal: shift America鈥檚 outlook on aquaculture. ASC is successful all over Europe 鈥� what needs to happen for it to be successful in the U.S.? (Hint: Branding. Mindset shift. Research. Education.)

But here, Lang had a dilemma. The ASC label helps consumers make environmentally and socially sustainable buying decisions, but one of the studies Lang published while working with the ASC found that people, when buying seafood, prioritize quality and safety benefits over environmental and social benefits.

One outcome of that research was the cleverly named ASC campaign, 鈥淎 New Way to Seafood,鈥� like 鈥渁 new way to see seafood, but also a new way to create seafood,鈥� Lang said.

He notes the importance of talking about personal benefits before talking about sustainability. 鈥淭his can be a clean, healthy, high-quality product, and by the way, it can also be sustainable 鈥� it鈥檚 protecting the planet, it鈥檚 protecting people,鈥� Lang said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a happy coincidence.鈥�

Lang鈥檚 ASC work often took him into the field, or stream, as he visited fish farms around the world to better understand health and safety practices and help communicate them. In Boise, Idaho, for instance, he visited the fish farm Riverence with some editors from leading food magazines.

They saw the fish and their habitat up close. The water was clear. The feed was clean. They ate a grilled fish lunch to experience the end result.

The editors couldn鈥檛 believe the taste, the cleanliness, how healthy the fish felt 鈥� a debunking of aquaculture myths.

Lang鈥檚 time with ASC is over, but he left behind a blue-print for making a lasting impression. He completed the research. Created a strategy. Helped hire and train a team and an advertising agency.

鈥淗ere鈥檚 a professor having an impact on the real world, and it's sustainable,鈥� Lang said. 鈥淚t's making a contribution to something bigger. I like this stage in my career.鈥�

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Mark Lang in the Kitchen

How Mark Lang approaches his profession parallels how he approaches his personal life 鈥� with high energy and deep focus, curiosity and a desire for betterment.

Lang hails from Canada, where he grew a love for water and windsurfing. Four decades later, Lang still rips at Fred Howard Park in Tarpon Springs 鈥� a renowned hub for windsurfers 鈥� which played a large role in his decision to accept the position at 小优视频ampa.

Yet one hobby outweighs any other: Lang loves to cook.

鈥淭hrough my work, I've been on farms, I've been on fishing boats, I've been on docks, I've been in fields, I've been in meat factories and fish factories,鈥� Lang said. 鈥淢y work has brought me really close to the making of food, which then really increases your connection to food.鈥�

He rarely eats out, he says, but when he does, he and his wife, Bea, look for hole-in-the-wall, greet-the-chef-as-you-walk in spots, like local favorites Marker 39 and Mystic Fish.

鈥淵ou can judge the quality of a restaurant based on how they cook their vegetables,鈥� Lang said.

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He treasures a binder full of recipes clipped from magazines like Bon Appetit and Saveur, annotated with changes and reactions: 鈥淯sed coconut milk.鈥� 鈥淏ea hates.鈥� 鈥淒on鈥檛 move in pan.鈥� He鈥檚 proud of his Saveur Cooks Authentic French cookbook. He implements food rules from Michael Pollan鈥檚 Omnivore鈥檚 Dilemma.

Fish is a staple in his diet: salmon, shrimp, floun-der, and, on special occasions, yellowtail snapper. He tries to stick to few yet fresh ingredients. He believes carrots don鈥檛 have to be boring.

Lang buys his fish from Costco, Publix or Whole Foods, which 鈥減robably has the best fish program in the United States,鈥� other than special small seafood markets, he said. Where you buy your seafood matters, he said. 鈥淵ou get what you pay for.鈥�

He follows a few other guidelines. Like, he doesn鈥檛 buy on-sale seafood on Sunday or Monday 鈥� that鈥檚 the fish that didn鈥檛 sell the week prior. And he鈥檚 always looking for fish with clear eyes, not cloudy or with a shiny film on the surface.

Then, armed with the best ingredients, he and Bea cook at home almost every night. His all-time favorite recipe? Without hesitation, from Cooking Light, Thai poached cod.

鈥淓xcellent. Bea loved.鈥�