reLAKSation 260. Callander McDowell
A new way?: IntraFish poses the question as to whether British retailer Marks & Spencer has found a new way to buy salmon? In a new arrangement, Scottish Sea Farms has dedicated some of its farms exclusively to raise fish under stringent new rules from egg to harvest. IntraFish describe this as either the ultimate traceability programme or the ultimate private label programme. In fact it is neither. What it is, can be best described as an example of producing what the customer wants and this is nothing new. What is different is the scale of the arrangement.
For many years, a number of smokehouses have been working with farms to produce salmon to an exact specification. M&S have now extended this to the retail sector, although other supermarkets, such as Waitrose, have also been working on a similar strategy.
IntraFish say that this development is no longer a case of a retailer buying whatever fish fit a certain specification. Instead it is a retailer making demands for a certain kind of fish before it is even hatched and why not? These retailers have every right to choose the specification of the fish they buy.
We, at Callander McDowell, welcome this development. We have argued for over fifteen years that the salmon industry has been stuck in outdated production-led strategies. Fish are produced irregardless of any customer needs and when harvested, are sent off in the hope of the best price. Farmers are left at the mercy of the open market and this does not always favour them and this is why the industry has been subjected to recurring market disruption. When some sections of the industry have not been happy with their returns, they have sought to damage their competitors rather than address their customer’s needs.
We have always believed that the only way forward is to engage in those strategies which are much more market-led, producing what the consumer actually wants. Using IntraFish’s terminology, this latest development is the ultimate market-led strategy and we fully applaud both M&S and Scottish Sea Farms for leading the field. This is not a new way of buying salmon but part of the inevitable progression that the salmon industry must take if it is to become a fully fledged member of the wider food sector.
More mixed messages: Recently Fishupdate.com reported that although Icelandic Group’s performance fell short of management targets, the jewel in the company crown was Grimsby based, Seachill. Sales increased by 32% buoyed up in part by the Jamie Oliver effect encouraging the consumption of healthy food.
At the same time, kitchen equipment firm Kenwood have released new research which suggests that only a third of the population have ever made a meal from scratch. This is despite the growing popularity of TV chefs and cookery programmes and cookbooks. The reality is that most of the British population prefer to rely on ready made or takeaway meals.
The research also showed that 70% spend less than an hour making a meal whilst 50% are happy to spend £100 or more on a meal out. Kenwood conclude that most people value time rather than money and it is this governs whether people cook or not.
We, at Callander McDowell, would suggest that what can be concluded from these very different messages is that those consumers who buy fish and other healthy eating options are doing so increasingly regularly whilst, those who rely on ready meals are also increasingly doing so. This would suggest that the population is divided by its eating habits. Perhaps, the recent changes in school meal policies together with increasing media attention may persuade more of the public to try the healthy eating option. But as our regular observations confirm, what people say and what people do can be two very different responses.
One message: IntraFish reported from the recent Australasian Aquaculture Conference in Adelaide where Chairman of the South Australia Aquaculture Council, Bruce Zippel said that there was one clear message to be heard. This was that the aquaculture industry in Australia must engage in more marketing if it wants a larger slice of the growing international seafood market.
We, at Callander McDowell, would certainly agree with Mr Zippel’s sentiments but not just with regard to Australia. All sectors of the international aquaculture industry need to give greater consideration to the markets and what they want.
For example, as we discussed above, the UK market appears divided as to what consumers should eat. There is an increasing awareness of healthy eating but still consumers prefer to stick to ready meals. However, why shouldn’t consumers have access to the ready meals that they so clearly want, but at the same time, why shouldn’t those ready meals be made as a healthy option? Some retailers are aware of this need and are responding accordingly. More and more healthy meals are appearing on supermarket shelves and increasingly some meals are aimed at meeting a specific health benefit such as provided by omega -3 fatty acids.
Mr Zippel says that the world’s appetite for fish and seafood shows no sign of diminishing but even so, there are still plenty of potential consumers whose health could benefit from regular consumption of fish.