Chilled seafood sales continue to skyrocket in U.K. supermarkets, spiking 16.3 percent in the most recent quarter.
Overall chilled seafood sales rose to nearly GBP 535 million (USD 743 million, EUR 626 million), according to new data from research firm Kantar.
“While the performance of fresh fish was subdued during the pandemic, shoppers are returning to the category, with an additional 1.1 million Brits buying fresh fish compared to a year ago,” Kantar wrote in most-recent report on the sector.
The fastest-growing area of fresh seafood sales for the quarter ending on 13 June was value-added items. Sales of value-added products soared 40.8 percent to GBP 129 million (USD 179 million, EUR 151 million) in the quarter, Kantar reported.
“As we begin to return to some kind of normality, shoppers are once again seeking convenience,” Kantar said.
Shellfish sales also jumped 17.8 percent to GBP 60.2 million (USD 83 million, EUR 70 million), while battered seafood items rose 16.5 percent to GBP 10.5 million (USD 15 million, EUR 12 million). Smoked seafood items were also popular, rising nearly 14 percent to GBP 104.7 million (USD 145 million, EUR 122 million).
Conversely, breaded seafood sales dropped 2.5 percent to GBP 35.5 million (USD 49 million, EUR 42 million).
A separate Seafish analysis found that frozen fish and shellfish sales at grocery stores soared 20 percent to a value of GBP 1.1 billion (USD 1.5 billion, EUR 1.3 billion) in 2020. Meanwhile, ambient sales climbed 12 percent to GBP 600 million (USD 818.5 million, EUR 693.9 million), and chilled product sales rose 7 percent to GBP 2.5 billion (USD 3.4 billion, EUR 2.9 billion) for the year.
However, U.K. consumers purchased 15 percent less seafood last year than in 2019, according to Seafish. While retail seafood sales increased 11 percent to a total value of GBP 4.3 billion (USD 5.9 billion, EUR 5 billion) – accounting for 62 percent of all sales – out-of-home sales fell 39 percent to GBP 2.6 billion (USD 3.6 billion, EUR 3 billion).
Kantar found that while meat and poultry sales declined in the quarter, chilled meat-free product sales soared 21.4 percent.
“Fresh fish wasn’t alone in seeing an influx of shoppers, with an additional 1.2 million of us buying into the meat-free category in the last 12 weeks compared to last year,” Kantar said.
Photo courtesy of Octus_Photography/Shutterstock
