Last year presented several challenges to the Scottish smoked salmon sector, including high prices for raw materials and cost-of-living issues squeezing the wallets of consumers.
However, Aberdeen, Scotland-based smoked salmon producer John Ross is entering the new year positively by announcing plans for expansion and having recently been granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment as Fish Merchant and Curer to King Charles III.
The firm has a longstanding relationship with the U.K.’s royal family; it was a 30-year holder of the same honor for the late Queen Elizabeth II.
“Receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment from His Majesty The King is a privilege beyond measure,” John Ross CEO Christopher Leigh said. “For over three decades, we have taken great pride in upholding the highest standards for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and it is a true honor to continue this tradition in service to the king. This recognition inspires us to remain at the forefront of our craft, honoring the heritage and excellence that has come to define John Ross.”
John Ross’s red brick kilns that it uses to smoke its salmon date back to 1857, and have been listed by government agency Historic Scotland for their cultural significance. They are used daily to smoke salmon from the northwest waters of Scotland.
As well as directly supplying its smoked salmon throughout the U.K. to fishmongers, delis, hotels, restaurants, and retailers, the company also supplies more than 25 countries worldwide and is a two-time winner of the Queen’s Award for Export – in 2000 and 2016.
John Ross Director of Sales Victoria Leigh confirmed that the past year proved challenging for all salmon processors but also said that the firm sees strong opportunities in 2025 and beyond.
“The hospitality sector is under financial pressure, and consumers are having to watch their basket spend due to the cost of living, all while the price of salmon, especially at the early part of the year, has been high,” she told SeafoodSource. “We’ve overcome this by focusing on quality … as well as offering our product at reasonable and fair prices. Despite our labor-intensive hand craftsmanship, we remain one of the top value-for-money producers for both trade and consumers.”
Leigh also said that the firm is undergoing expansion – in terms of customers, personnel, and its product line.
“We’ve got some exciting new customers coming on board in the new year – both domestically and internationally – and having already grown our sales team, we’re expanding further. We’ve had some great success this year in Europe, and we’re looking forward to building on that,” she said. “We’ve also recently added two items to our kiln-roasted salmon range: a Cajun-spiced version and a maple syrup and mustard seed flavor. Both products are performing extremely well, and the kiln-roasted portfolio in general is really growing in demand.”
Recent figures shared by trade body Salmon Scotland indicate that despite the difficulties the salmon industry faced last year, salmon sales in the U.K. increased by more than 9 percent in the 12 months leading up to June 2024, reaching GBP 1.2 billion (USD 1.5 billion, EUR 1.4 billion).
Smoked salmon made up 25.2 percent of those salmon sales.
Overall, U.K. fish sales for the year to June 2024 increased 4.8 percent in value to around GBP 4.4 billion (USD 5.5 billion, EUR 5.3 billion).
U.K. salmon exports are likely to record a record-breaking 2024 as a whole, according to Salmon Scotland, with data from the third quarter of 2024 showing international sales increased 11 percent to GBP 191 million (USD 240.6 million, EUR 230.2 million) between June and September, taking the nine-month total to GBP 622 million (USD 783.5 million, EUR 749.8 million).
Salmon Scotland highlighted that just in those nine months, the industry surpassed the GBP 618 million (USD 778.5 million, EUR 744.9 million) full-year sales total from 2019, which was the highest on record.
Each quarter of 2024 saw rises in sales by volume and value, according to the trade body, and growth was driven by increased exports to key markets like France, the U.S., and China.
“The popularity of Scottish salmon continues to soar – both at home and abroad – and [2024 is likely to be] a record-breaking year,” Salmon Scotland CEO Tavish Scott said. “This reflects the strong consumer confidence in Scottish salmon, which remains as robust as ever.”
