Grimsby, U.K.-based seafood brand Young’s has expanded its Chip Shop range with the launch of Jumbo Fish Fingers.
The new product comes in packages containing four, 80-gram fish fingers made with Alaska pollock.
Young’s explained in a release that the launch is designed to attract adult consumers and reengage lapsed shoppers within the fish finger category, responding to growing demand for more satisfying, indulgent seafood options.
“By moving beyond the traditional children’s tea occasion, Young’s is creating new opportunities for shoppers to enjoy fish fingers as a satisfying meal option in their own right,” it said.
Currently available in retail chain Asda and then additional retailers starting in September, the launch builds on the success already built by the Young’s Chip Shop range, which is worth over GBP 45 million (USD 60 million, EUR 53 million). The range’s Jumbo Fish Special alone has generated over GBP 3 million (USD 4 million, EUR 3.5 million) in retail sales value in its first 12 months and brought 38,000 new shoppers into the frozen fish category, per Young’s.
“The range has demonstrated strong shopper appetite for bigger, more indulgent formats while highlighting the opportunity to drive trade-up within the category,” the brand said.
Young’s partially attributed its success to the average price of restaurant fish and chips rising by 79 percent over the past seven years, causing more shoppers to turn to high-quality at-home “fakeaway” alternatives. By comparison, Young’s Chip Shop Jumbo Fish Fingers retail for GBP 3.95 (USD 5.26, EUR 4.62).
“Whether it’s creating the ultimate fish finger sandwich or cooking up an easy weeknight treat, this product is about giving shoppers a bigger, more satisfying way to enjoy a classic and a reason to fall back in love with fish fingers again,” Young’s Marketing Director Kevin Sinfield said.
Besides Young’s, many other suppliers and foodservice companies in both the U.K. and U.S. have committed to Alaska pollock to meet their whitefish needs.
Despite higher prices, Long John Silver’s continues to use Alaska pollock for its fish sandwich and other battered fish offerings and has maintained the USD 6.00 (EUR 5.27) price point on its basket offering through 2026.
“It gives consumers a ‘huge value’ with a full meal, and seafood is not usually the easiest thing to provide at that price point,” Long John Silver’s Chief Marketing Officer Laura Ellis told SeafoodSource in June.
Additionally, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A.-based Captain D’s, which operates more than 500 restaurants in the U.S., as well as locations in Canada and the U.K., recently debuted Alaska pollock across several of its popular menu items.
The initiative, according to the chain, reflects Captain D's “commitment to investing in premium seafood that is responsibly sourced and served at an accessible price point,” adding that it has invested “millions of dollars” to bring in wild-caught fish from Alaska and based the decision on months of consumer and focus group research.
