Tesco sales figures show significant growth for seafood products

New sales data released by Tesco show significant increases in demand for seafood, all of which the UK retailer says are responsibly sourced.

Tesco added that the numbers show that shoppers are gaining confidence preparing fish at home, as some of the products showing growth are whole fish and raw shellfish.

Tesco revealed the sales increases for the following species in the past year:

  • Raw tiger prawns: demand up 1,100 percent
  • Oysters: up 240 percent
  • Large crab: up 110 percent
  • Whole turbot: up 100 percent
  • Whole hake: up 65 percent
  • Smoked haddock loin: up 50 percent
  • Sea bream fillets: up 45 percent
  • Prepared squid: up 40 percent
  • Lobster: up 30 percent
  • Whole lemon sole: up 30 percent
  • Whole sea bream: up 25 percent
  • Whole mackerel: up 25 percent
  • Brill: up 15 percent

Tesco said its fishmongers are trained to give cooking advice over the counter, which encourages customers to try something new.

“It’s well known in the seafood industry that many Brits lack confidence when it comes to fish, believing it to be hard to prepare, tricky to eat, perishable and also expensive,” said Tesco seafood specialist Gary Hooper, who is also a director of the National Federation of Fishmongers.
“What we do through our training scheme for fish counters staff is help eradicate that fear and make shoppers feel more confident when it comes to choosing their fish. The rise in demand for more uncommon species such as turbot, sea bream, squid and brill shows that shoppers are becoming much more adventurous in trying new types of fish.”

“With the increasing popularity in cookery and food programs and just general awareness of the sustainability of the fish in our seas, we are seeing much more interest from consumers in trying new types of seafood,” added Seafish Chief Executive Paul Williams. “People are starting to realize they don’t need to stick to the usual suspects such as cod, salmon, tuna or prawns because there is a much bigger choice of species that they can experiment with. Whilst as a nation we will always love our traditional fish and chips or fish pie, there is a growing sense of adventure when it comes to enjoying seafood today suggesting people are letting go of their fears of preparing and cooking seafood.”

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