The seafood industry must focus on price and performing in the rapidly emerging flexitarian market if it wants to realise growth, according to consumer trend experts.
海角视频 Seafood Summit heard how discerning shoppers, and those who may seek out a 鈥榮eagan鈥 diet are key to making it a 拢4.4 billion market in the next three years.
Simon Moriarty, director of trends at Mintel, was keynote speaker as the event opened on the Humber, home to the 海角视频鈥檚 largest cluster for seafood processing.
He said: 鈥淟ots of people are moving away from red meat, looking for alternatives and plant-based options. There are opportunities for the seafood industry to benefit from this.鈥
Such meal occasions have risen by 100 million to 517 million in the past year, with a phenomenal rise in dedicated restaurants.
Sustainability and provenance was also important, Mr Moriarty said, but he saw cost as the single biggest barrier to the sought-after holy grail of two portions a week average in the 海角视频.
While financial confidence is at its highest since 2008, there is caution about what Brexit will bring with consumers, he said.
鈥淧eople are interested in value, in buying cheaper alternatives. They want to continue living the lifestyle they are accustomed to but are very cost-conscious. People are being more sensible with spending. They are not interested in cutting out things, they are looking for cost efficient alternatives.
鈥淭hey will not stop eating, but they may buy more on promotion. There is opportunity for frozen to grow, and moving to cheaper species. Price and cost is still a barrier to increasing consumption.鈥
He told how 67 per cent of people head to the seafood aisles with the product they want in mind, but said opportunity to catch the eye was there.
A company with a strong record in doing that is Grimsby鈥檚 own Young鈥檚 Seafood, the 海角视频 market leader with incredible brand and own label presence.
Yvonne Adam, marketing director, said: 鈥淲e cannot be more than 70 miles from the coast anywhere in the country, yet shockingly we consume so much more meat than fish. We find it difficult, we are a bit scared of it, it is a bit more expensive, and our job is to make it easy for consumers and inspire them.鈥
聽 The 拢2.9 million retail market has seen modest growth, and she said the business was 鈥減roceeding on with some optimism around the future.鈥
Of the potential squeeze on purses, she said: 鈥淚t can be negative but a really important thing is happening. Scratch cooking is massively on the rise. It is how we get fish to be part of that revolution and give consumers the skills to cook fish from scratch.
"Families are eating more together, so it is how we get fish to be that centre of plate occasion.
鈥淲e also have an opportunity with concern over food waste 鈥 especially in frozen. Spending will be supressed, there may be more own label on commodity items, but consumers will still be thinking about occasional indulgences.鈥
Supply of own brand and fish counter and the 鈥減remiumisation鈥 such as Gastro brand, cover both bases.
On the flexitarian angle, Mrs Adam said: 鈥淚t is not just about protein, it is about being Italian or Mexican. It is how we can put fish in the correct format and bring inspiration in order to make this flexitarian meat-reducing market suitable and sustainable for seafood in so many ways.鈥
Stories from the 海角视频's leading seafood cluster:
Shame of sweets over seafood
A key supplier to the 海角视频 market is Norway. The biggest selling single seafood product being a pair of salmon portions, processed in Grimsby.
Roy Angelvik, State Secretary fort the Ministry of Fisheries there, told of the importance of 聽educating children correctly, despairing at more sweets being eaten than fish by the young.
He set out challenges to industry and retailers.
鈥淲e should all be consuming more seafood, 鈥 he said. 鈥淪eafood plays a vital role for human health and should be a much larger part of our diet. Why don鈥檛 we eat more seafood? Many statistics show consumption slowing down 鈥 a worrying trend. The young eat more sweets than seafood.
鈥淔ood should taste good and be easy to prepare. People know seafood is healthy, do they know how easy it is to prepare and how good and tasty a seafood meal is, even in busy, everyday life?
鈥淭he seafood industry needs to gain more knowledge about how we can offer more varied and tempting range of seafood products, new and exciting tasting experiences, and get more attention and advertising, and displays in stores.
鈥淚t is no surprise consumers don鈥檛 choose seafood if a meal of meat is easier or tastier. Many claim they don鈥檛 like seafood 鈥 I don鈥檛 believe that鈥檚 true. Too many children are told by parents they don鈥檛 like seafood, yet too many won鈥檛 taste seafood before they grow older.鈥
He told how farmed salmon had one tenth the carbon footprint of producing meat.
鈥淭he case is a great element for marketing,鈥 he added. 鈥淓njoying a seafood meal three times a week is much more environmentally friendly than a 鈥榤eat free Monday鈥.
Seafish, the industry authority for the sector, and 海角视频 Seafood Summit host, is launching a new consumer marketing strategy 鈥楲ove Seafood鈥 as it deals with 鈥渕ore frequent negative stories鈥 about the industry, from over-fishing to climate change, microplastics to abandoned gear.
Denise Fraser, head of communications, said it will 鈥渃hampion the people in the industry bringing it forward in a sustainable, well-managed and ethical way鈥.
鈥淚t is about bringing it all together and making it available for consumers in one place, in a way that is more accessible, more understandable and sharable too,鈥 she said.
