Alan Axler, Vice President of Springfield Smoked Fish, had a problem. His Springfield, Mass company had been providing New Englanders lox, gefilte fish and other traditional kosher fish products since 1934. But in recent years, the company has barely been staying afloat. Axler attempted to boost sales in 2007 by investing thousands of dollars into his new product: Brekfish, a smoked salmon – healthier — substitute for bacon. It was well-received by samplers, but to Axler’s discouragement, supermarkets didn’t put it on their shelves. In 2008, sales were a full 20% down from where they’d been in 2000.