Seafood has been performing well in the United Kingdom’s wider food and drink market this year, with spending growth outpacing other categories, according to the Norwegian Seafood Council’s (NSC) latest U.K. market and retail report.
NSC figures show that spending growth on fish peaked at 7.6 percent this year so far, compared to 3.7 percent for the overall market. In the latest 12-week period ending in June, fish spending was still growing by 4.4 percent, which was almost twice the overall market’s 2.3 percent, with the NSC suggesting that seafood is benefiting from a combination of health-led purchasing, innovation, and changing meal habits.
“Fish and seafood have been much more resilient than some other proteins,” said William Murray Retail and Category Expert David Marston, who presented the report’s findings. “Health is back on the shopper’s agenda. We’ve seen that time and time again. It’s all about positive nutrition, and seafood delivers that.”
Chilled seafood has been a particularly strong performer up to the mid-year mark, recording growth of more than 6 percent. Farmed salmon grew by 8.5 percent, while sushi increased by 3 percent.
The latter product and raw fish products more generally, including poke bowls, are helping attract consumers seeking easy-to-eat options, particularly younger shoppers. Their popularity may also provide an entry point into the wider seafood category for people who do not regularly buy other fish products, Marston explained
“Sushi seems to be that door-opener,” he said.
NSC U.K. Country Director Bjørn-Erik Stabell told SeafoodSource he believes the country is entering a new phase, with a first generation of consumers who have grown up eating raw fish.
“This will have a significant influence on how consumers eat seafood in the years to come,” he said.
The next growth opportunity, he anticipated, lies in encouraging these consumers to enjoy sushi, sashimi, ceviche, and poke bowls more frequently, including at home.
Most retail products in the raw seafood category are currently designed for takeaway, whether eaten on the go or later at home. Stabell sees scope to develop products that give consumers the confidence to prepare raw seafood dishes from scratch, combining convenience with a more premium at-home experience.
“These dishes take only minutes to prepare and are straightforward once consumers have the confidence to make them,” he said.
Norwegian farmed salmon is central to this opportunity, but Stabell also identified potential for other Norwegian farmed species, including cod and halibut, while Norwegian coldwater prawns/shrimp can also “work particularly well” in poke bowls.
Opportunities extend beyond raw seafood, with the report identifying 13.6 percent growth in world-flavored ready-to-eat seafood, reflecting demand for internationally inspired cuisines and flavors, particularly those associated with the Asia-Pacific region.
Stabell said this reinforces the opportunity for Norwegian suppliers to work with U.K. customers on products that make it easier to prepare more varied seafood meals at home.
Potential approaches include globally inspired marinades, seasoned fillets, ready-to-cook portions, and simple meal solutions that combine flavor with convenience, he said.
This growth has come against a backdrop of pressure in other protein categories.
Rising prices for beef and lamb have made some traditional favorites more of a treat for consumers, while pork has seen growth concentrated in convenient formats such as diced and minced meat.
These trends have placed the wider meat market under pressure, according to NSC, with products offering convenience and ease of preparation among the areas performing better.
With NSC’s report finding that seafood already reaches approximately 95 percent of U.K. households, a question facing the industry now is how existing consumers can be encouraged to buy the products more frequently.
Stabell said he believes the best opportunity is likely to come from increasing purchase frequency and encouraging consumers to trade up to more premium products, rather than relying primarily on attracting entirely new seafood buyers.
“This shows both how well-developed and innovative the U.K. market is and how it is already offering consumers a wide range of value-added products,” he said.
Communicating seafood’s benefits as a source of high-quality protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and other nutrients could help position it as a natural choice for more meals, including breakfast and lunch, Stabell said.
Broader trends the report highlighted include dynamics across frozen and ambient seafood, as well.
Frozen seafood is experiencing higher average prices, partly reflecting “premiumization” and the introduction of higher-priced products. While this may be contributing to some volume softness, Marston said he sees an opportunity to attract consumers through products that provide complete, convenient meal solutions.
Ambient seafood, meanwhile, benefits from its perceived affordability and longer shelf life. Innovation in meal solutions is also helping support the category.
Overall, the report emphasized that seafood is not simply benefiting from higher prices driving up sales by value, with Marston also pointing to growing sales by volumes, distinguishing its performance from categories where value growth has been accompanied by falling sales volumes.
“If volume were declining, as it is in other categories which have had high value growth, we’d say that was an issue but not in seafood,” he said. “We’ve seen volume growing, so that shows you that the category is really the one to back for retailers and brands alike and to push that innovation.”
