A Chinese food company has introduced a range of canned cooked salmon aimed at the domestic mass market.
Steamed and braised in styles popular in local cuisine, the “A Er Di” brand of salmon, owned by Liaoning Ren Da Foodstuffs Co., is being promoted by local television celebrities hired by the firm. The firm’s 100-gram cans are being sold at CNY 38.00 (USD 6.00, EUR 4.88) on Dayuchang, an online seafood retailer and distributor. The cans, with a shelf life of 24 months, are simultaneously being sold by discounters on Taobao.com at CNY 9.00 (USD 1.42, EUR 1.16).
Based in Dandong, near the North Korean border, Ren Da was established in 1993 as a processor for the export market, but has recently shifted to focusing on the domestic market. The firm, which has 800 staff, also processes shellfish and crustaceans. It exports to Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia and wants to up its sales in the European Union and the United States, according to a company sales executive.
Consumption of salmon is soaring in China and across Asia, and canned braised salmon could prove popular in more remote parts – and in smaller towns and villages near Beijing – where refrigerated retail is still a relatively new phenomenon.
