Launching a range of fresh fish products with a shelf-life of just three days is a very bold move. Some would say it’s a crazy notion; others that it simply won’t work. But James Knight of Mayfair Ltd., the largest independent wholesaler in London, believes it can fill a decent sized gap in the U.K. retail market by providing pre-packs of “fishmonger-fresh” seasonal fish.
As a wholesaler, James Knight is positioned at the premium end of the market, supplying fine dining restaurants and hotels as well as holding Royal Warrants for the supply of fish to the royal family. The company also has a long-established fishmongering arm, and it’s the countrywide demise of the independent fishmonger trade that has provided the inspiration for its new range.
High street fishmongers have become a rarity for British shoppers. In the 1950s, the United Kingdom could boast around 10,000 shops, but today that number is less than 1,000.
In London, they are mostly confined to wealthy areas, said James Knight’s retail director Fiona O’Callaghan. “Everyone else [in the city] has to travel some miles to source a decent range of good quality fish. And for every fishmonger opening in a posh area, two others are closing elsewhere. We, ourselves, had to close the doors of our shop in Notting Hill earlier this year. It had been a fishmongers for 75 years but our landlord doubled the rent. We were a community resource, but we were simply priced out of the retail rental market.”
O’Callaghan acknowledged the current uncertainty in the U.K. economy means value for money remains hugely important in the retail environment, but she said James Knight believes there is still a good proportion of consumers who are placing importance on freshness and the quality of the products that they buy.
“As a result of having so few fishmongers left on the high street, fish is now seen as something special to eat. It’s relatively expensive, and as a result, it’s a treat to eat in a restaurant or at home for a special occasion,” said O’Callaghan, who revealed that through its market research, James Knight has built a comprehensive picture of its core customer base.
Today’s fish buyers are likely to be pretty well off, she said. They’re looking for something a bit special for dinner and don’t mind paying a little extra for it. Some will take a real interest in the fish on the plate, they want provenance and they want to know how it was caught; they are aware that overfishing continues to affect some species and they are increasingly prepared to try less-threatened varieties.
In a seven-day week, they might eat out once, she continued. They will get a takeaway or buy a ready meal once, and the rest of the week they will be cooking from scratch.
This insight has led the company to devise four clearly defined sections in its new range using only raw materials that are ranked either “green” or “amber” by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).
The first category in the range is “weekday fish,” which are quick-and-easy products like fillets of mackerel, rainbow trout, organic salmon, cod and bream; then there’s “weekend fish,” such as halibut, monkfish, lemon sole and sea trout for customers that have more time to prepare a meal from scratch; the third group comprises defrosted seafood mixes for paellas, vongoles, risottos and fish pies; and lastly, there’s the hard to source but often quoted recipe accompaniments like squid ink and samphire.
“The range has a three-day shelf-life; it hasn’t been treated beforehand or excessively handled, and that’s really important. Supermarkets’ gas-flushed pre-packs with a five, six or even 10-day shelf-life are of course perfectly edible, but this length of time does affect quality. What’s in the supermarket can be pretty tasteless, if I’m honest,” said O’Callaghan.
To make its pre-packs stand out on the shelf, the company has created a brand mascot, “Colin the Crab,” who has a “very friendly” tone of voice, she said. “He’s quite helpful on parts of our packaging; he furnishes you with a recipe and a shopping list for the rest of the dish, he gives tips on cooking and freezing, and he encourages you to cook. Given the starkness of what we see in supermarkets, we knew our branding needed to be a little more fun, a bit more memorable and more consumer-oriented.”
Continuing with the unconventional retail theme, the range will mostly be sold through high street delicatessens and butchers, as well as independent and online retailers. Some of these outlets have not sold fish before, but as far as O’Callaghan is concerned, the main thing is they share the company’s values and its ethos.
Looking ahead, she would like to see this strategy develop into a network of seafood hubs, whereby people who don’t have access to a fishmonger could visit their local butcher or delicatessen and still find James Knight’s premium fresh fish products.
“We’re realistic,” she said. “From our experience we know our pre-packs are not going to fly off the shelves by themselves, we are going to have to work hard to achieve that.”
O’Callaghan admitted the rollout of the new range has kept her awake at night, but with “very complementary” customer feedback already secured from the soft launch, fishmonger-fresh could be a concept that proves naysayers wrong.
