When it was founded just over 10 years ago, Netherlands-based Fishes was hailed as a pioneering venture. It was the first retail chain, and later wholesale business, in Europe to sell seafood products that utilized only Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified fish.
The business plan was a success and Fishes took off. Furthermore, thanks to an unerring dedication to the advancement of the sustainable seafood movement, founder Bart van Olphen was named a Seafood Champion by the Seafood Choices Alliance (SCA) in 2008. A year later, Fishes Wholesale, which specialized in supplying sustainable, eco-labeled seafood for retail and foodservice, was acquired by the Spakenburg-based B.V. Kennemervis Group for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which didn’t include the Fishes fishmonger stores and cafes, was meant to take Fishes products onto the next level in terms of market expansion and increased volumes.
Van Olphen followed his company into the Kennemervis fold, but it was a relationship that wasn’t to last; reaching a comfortable conclusion in November 2012. Following his departure from the group, van Olphen joined a B2B venture that trades tuna spreads for sandwiches, which is affiliated to the U.S. west coast’s American Albacore Fishing Association (AAFA). There was, however, an itch that van Olphen needed to scratch. Fishes’ philosophy was to bring consumers closer to fisheries through products and while the company had been successful in this regard, he felt that much more could be achieved.
A lunch with friend and food retail strategist Harm Jan van Dijk in the early part of 2013 inevitably got the pair onto the subject of fish and the potential for creating a new brand.
“We quickly felt we were perfectly placed to create such a business and our respective talents would compliment the other’s. Harm’s strengths are in financing, structuring and organizing, while I have a network of contacts throughout the seafood supply chain, from fisheries to retail buyers. In addition, we have the means to reach the public through my books and television appearances as well as a mission to follow – the same one I have followed for 10 years – to grow the consumption of sustainable fish,” said van Olphen.
The brand name was an easy choice too; “Fish Tales” was the name of van Olphen’s first book, co-authored with U.K. celebrity chef Tom Kime. It told the stories and provided recipes from MSC-certified fisheries around the world.
“Fish Tales works as a brand because our intention is to promote the fisheries to consumers by telling the fishermen’s stories rather than just selling the product as a sustainable fish,” he said.
“I believe our branding establishes a very personal connection with the fishermen. For example, our Maldives skipjack is Mohamed’s tuna; our Pacific albacore in a can is Jack’s tuna. Every single product bears not only the name of the fish but also the name of the main fisherman behind that catch, so its Randy’s salmon, Jack’s tuna, Poul’s mussels, Maxine’s salmon and so on.”
Consumer insight
Fish Tales is built on two key market insights, the first of which is that statistics show consumers in the Netherlands are ordering fish in restaurants six to eight times more often than they eat it at home. Van Olphen believes the reasons for this trend are common throughout Europe; “a generation of people don’t know how to cook fish and they aren’t comfortable in making the best purchasing decision.”
The second insight is the current lack of transparency in the food industry, which he said is a failing that was highlighted on an unprecedented level by last year’s pan-European horsemeat scandal, as well as by a salmonella outbreak, linked to smoked salmon, which resulted in five deaths in the Netherlands in 2012.
“Consumers will be able to trust Fish Tales. It will stand for delicious seafood, sourced from the best fisheries around the world. We will help consumers create their own favorite dishes and we will also manufacture convenience products for the less adventurous. In addition, every product is guaranteed to come from sustainable sources,” he said.
With one exception — Alaska salmon — all the fish used in Fish Tales products will be MSC-certified. While the keta and sockeye fishery is certified according to the MSC standard, it took the decision not to pursue MSC chain of custody.
To re-establish trust in the marketplace and to encourage more consumers to buy and cook sustainable fish, Fish Tales is using social media.
“In the last five years, many things have changed in retail, but social media in particular has become very important in communicating brands. We see it as a big opportunity to bring fishermen and consumers closer together. Fishes didn’t really have the tools to build this relationship five to eight years ago but now they exist and Fish Tales will make best use of them.”
Fish Tales will provide recipes and fish preparation films on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. In terms of transparency, it will use on-pack QR codes and Facebook to introduce consumers to the fisheries where their purchase originated.
“If they are buying Maldivian skipjack tuna, there is a film that puts the consumer in the harbor with our main tuna fisherman, Ali Mohamed. You see how the fishermen catch the fish; and there’s another film that shows the canning process. The aim is to establish trust and make consumers feel comfortable with the safety and sustainability of the product they are buying.”
Retail strategy
Starting in March, the Fish Tales range will appear in Albert Heijn, with certain products being made available in as many as 700 of its stores. And to make them stand out from other seafood offerings, the Dutch supermarket chain will present all products together on the shelf.
At press time, discussions were also ongoing with retailers in Switzerland, Belgium, United Kingdom, France and the United States. While in foodservice, co-operations have been agreed for Fish Tales products to appear on KLM Airlines’ menus, at Shell petrol stations (Deli2Go) and at the Bagels & Beans restaurant chain.
Van Olphen said the hope is the out-of-home placements will build the exposure of the brand and make more people realize sustainable fish can be found in many products. He also believes that the company’s strategy is much better tailored toward supermarkets than Fishes was.
“In the first place, Fishes was a fishmonger store. Without any strategy, we ended up in supermarkets because Albert Heijn phoned me and asked if I could supply an MSC-certified product. Now, it’s the other way round; we have a strategy made for supermarkets and we are much better organized. Everything that we thought of for Fishes still exists within the main strategy of Fish Tales, but there is a real opportunity to make a difference with the possibilities that social media brings.”
In line with van Olphen’s commitment to sustainability, a substantial percent of Fish Tales’ profits will go to a Fish Tales Foundation, which will be established in early 2014 and managed by Fish Tales, in co-operation with WWF.
The foundation will fund sustainable fisheries in developing countries that are keen to pursue MSC-certification but don’t have access to sufficient funding.
“In this way, we will give such fisheries more market potential, while consumers buying Fish Tales products will help increase the supply of sustainable seafood. It’s a genuine win-win strategy,” said van Olphen.
