Are Brits falling out of love with fried fish?

With annual sales valued at several million British pounds, it would be well wide of the mark to suggest that fish served in a fried form has had its day. With so much diversity having crept into the U.K. foodservice sector in the past decade in order to satisfy increasingly adventurous consumers, however, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to learn the volume of fish sold through the fish and chip trade is in decline.

The latest statistics provided by the U.K. Seafish Authority show that consumers paid 329 million visits to fish and chip shops in 2014, the same as in 2013. They spent an average of GBP 3.22 (EUR 4.51; USD 5.02) on each visit with food and drink purchases totaling GBP 1.1 billion (EUR 1.5 billion; USD 1.7 billion), an increase of 0.5 percent on the previous year. Despite this strong performance, the number of servings that actually comprised seafood fell 8.6 percent to 171 million.  

While fried fish still holds the majority share of seafood servings, it’s also driving the decline. Only fish burgers and shellfish sales have shown any growth in the channel, according to Seafish.

There is a perception that fish and chips is old fashioned – a meal favored by older consumers – and the authority’s data finds there is some truth in that. While the average fish and chip shop customer is only slightly older than the average foodservice customer, those buying fish are typically significantly older, it said.

At the same time, chip shop owners have seen more customers switch their orders to cheaper options like sausages and burgers – a trend that’s partly attributed to the tough economic climate that many consumers have had to endure in recent times.

Even the rise in the country’s consumption of cod – its favorite whitefish – has failed to translate to the chip shop trade. In 2014, the U.K. population consumed a total of 250.8 million servings of cod, an increase of 2.8 percent on the previous year. Sales were split 50-50 between retail and foodservice with growth of 1.2 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively. But within foodservice, just 33.9 million portions of cod were sold by the fish and chip channel last year, down from well over 40 million in 2013. And while there has been an upturn in the volume of cod servings by pubs, which have traditionally fried their fish, this sector is almost entirely driven by older adult sales.

Certainly, the fish and chip industry has become much more sophisticated behind the scenes, including its awareness of sustainability issues within the broader seafood supply chain, but it’s clear the bigger challenge facing the country’s 10,500 or so outlets is encouraging more younger consumers to buy fish. Of course, that’s easier said than done: Research published earlier this year by consumer research consultancy RDSi on behalf of Seafish confirmed U.K. consumers have become much more promiscuous in their eating and restaurant habits and that seafood is losing ground to chicken and beef when it comes to center-plate proteins.

The study also found that despite more than half the U.K. population claiming to eat out-of-home at least once a week – a figure that’s growing steadily as the country’s recovery builds momentum and is largely being driven by the younger consumer groups – seafood was the only protein that didn’t experience any growth last year. This firstly confirms it’s not just fried fish that’s being hit by the intense competition in the foodservice arena; it’s merely the iconic part of a much bigger picture. And subsequently that seafood in general needs to move with the times and establish contemporary consumer formats in order to stay relevant to this fast-changing market.