To most people living in the UK, this story is amusing mainly because ‘Colin’ is a man’s name. Whilst it’s probably not the most popular name in history and currently not the most fashionable, there are few famous examples, one of whom is Colin Farrell, the actor.

Yet, Sainsbury’s have not sought inspiration from Mr Farrel but rather have looked towards France, where pollack is called ‘Colin’.

Sainsbury’s say that ‘the name, pronounced co-lan, is French for pollock when cooked’. What it is called when raw is unclear, however a number of the newspapers have consulted French English dictionaries and found the translation is hake. This has initiated a major debate on-line and in the letters pages as to what the fish should be called, since hake is better known as Merlu.

We cannot say that we have seen the name ‘Colin’ used on the fresh fish counters at supermarkets but we have seen the name widely used on packs of frozen fish, for example as ‘Colin D’Alaksa’ or as we know it, Alaskan pollock. However, there are also packs of another ‘Colin’ and this is packaged as ‘Colin Lieu’.

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail says that pollock (and its cousins) go under a number of different pseudonyms. In Russia they are ‘Lyur’ whilst in Denmark they are ‘Blaase’. The Swedes call them Grasej and the Germans, Seelachs. Finally, the Portuguese opt for ‘Juliana’. They add that even in the UK, they are known as coley, coalfish or Boston bluefish. Seafood.com also suggests that it can be called saithe.

Whatever the name, the motivation for the rebrand is that people are too embarrassed to ask for pollock because of the way it sounds. The Sun, a UK tabloid, were happy to suggest that this is a load of pollocks, playing on the word that Sainsbury’s believe is too embarrassing.

A Guardian newspaper commentary took a different view, wondering that if consumers were too embarrassed to ask for pollock, then whether asking for what is, if the dictionary definition is correct, in fact hake, will prove any less embarrassing is another matter.

We, at Callander McDowell, doubt whether embarrassment has much to do with why UK consumers are reluctant to buy pollock. A more likely reason is that the British consumer has always considered that both pollock and coley are only fit to feed the cat. Consumers may have also considered that the darker coloured raw flesh was unattractive when they were more used to white fleshed cod and haddock. In addition, there was little reason to choose these alternative species when cod and haddock were not only widely available but also cheap to buy. Why should they opt for something else especially, something held in such low regard?

Of course, the threat to stocks of wild cod has brought about a change in thinking. The environmental groups have urged consumers to avoid cod and haddock and select more sustainable species. Celebrity chefs such as Tom Aikens have jumped on this band wagon by promoting pollock in his London fish and chip shop. The fact that this venture closed down not long after it was launched may be indicative that consumers don’t share this enthusiasm for pollock.

According to the Guardian, Alison Austin, Environment Manager at Sainsbury’s said it is now time to make pollock more appealing to British shoppers. Sainsbury’s want to help highlight that there are many other species to eat than cod and haddock which are just as tasty and often cheaper. She added that many consumers are unable to taste any difference between cod and pollock so she urges everyone to put it back on the British table by trying ‘colin and chips’ on a Friday (why just Fridays?). She says that if Britons eat as much UK pollock as the French, then it could make a big difference in saving British cod.

The timing of this new crusade to move consumers away from cod is rather strange. This is because there is currently a lot of cod around that is considered ‘safe’ to eat on conservation grounds. Steve Norton of the Grimsby Fish Merchants Association told fishnewseu.com that people had been genuinely concerned about eating cod but times have changed and there is availability from a number of sustainable sources. Instead of turning people away from cod, he said that there should be some pro-active marketing to make consumers aware that there is a lot of cod available and that they can eat it with a clear conscience. He also told ‘The Grocer’ that it would be great if a big name celebrity cook, such as Delia Smith, would front such a campaign to help get the message across.

Sainsbury’s are also passionate about sustainable sourcing to help protect dwindling fish stocks. This is perhaps why most of the cod sold in Sainsbury’s is actually MSC certified and is sourced from the Pacific Ocean rather than locally. Surely, if Sainsbury’s customers are buying cod that is rated as coming from sustainable stocks with the highest possible certification, it makes little sense to try persuading them that they should be buying ‘Colin’ instead. MSC certification is supposed to be an indication that the stocks are protected from any form of over-exploitation and are fish of choice.

IntraFish reports that in March cod outstripped sales of pollock in Sainsbury’s by 52,904 units to 3,947. One of the reasons for this huge difference in sales may be due to that fact that whilst Sainsbury’s say that fresh pollock can be bought in-store all year round, we, at Callander McDowell have not seen it stocked regularly in the stores we visit. By comparison, cod is widely available in several different presentations in every store.

Sainsbury’s suggest that pollock is more competitively priced that cod as it sells for £9.90/kg in prepacked format whilst cod sells for £11.49/kg and thus costs more. However, Sainsbury’s cod priced at £11.49/kg is skinless and boneless but what they don’t mention is that they also sell packs of cod with the skin-on and which sells for just £8.71/kg. This lower price is perhaps why consumers choose to buy cod and not pollock. For comparison, haddock sold an even greater 98,722 units and is priced at £7.96/kg.

Whilst we have had some difficulty finding prepacked pollock at £9.90/kg in the fish section at Sainsbury’s, it has been much easier to pick up packs of ‘Basics’ (Sainsbury’s value brand) pollock at £4.99/kg. The label of this range states ‘all shapes, all sizes’ which is the same approach as that to label the ‘Basics’ pack of salmon fillets. When buying salmon, consumers might assume that the fish in the pack is exactly the same as that found in more expensive formats, but the fish could be of different sizes and odd shapes. As the ‘Basics’ salmon is also labelled as Freedom Food certified, this assumption would seem to hold true, however, the same cannot be said for pollock. Whilst the fish in the packs is of different shapes and sizes, the fish is different to that offered in the packs priced at £9.90/kg. The stated origin of the Pacific Ocean and the MSC symbol help give the game away that this fish used in this product is actually Alaskan pollock not the UK caught fish highlighted in the press.

Sainsbury’s don’t make it clear as to whether the rename is meant to cover both native and Alaskan pollock, but if it does, then the two species will need to be clearly differentiated as in France. Certainly, the Sainsbury’s press release refers to Alaskan pollock as well since they say that pollock can make a great value contribution to a healthy family meal and can be found in the 10 Basics fish fingers (which is MSC pollock from Alaska) priced at 49p for ten. This would suggest that they intend to call Alaskan pollock ‘Colin’ too.

We are surprised if Sainsbury’s intention is to include Alaskan pollock in the renaming because UK consumers have seemingly accepted this fish as part of their weekly shop. As we have discussed several times previously, both the major fish processors, Young’s and Bird’s Eye have increasingly substituted Alaskan pollock for cod in many of their breaded and battered products and these are widely available in the UK retail market. Sales have rapidly grown boosted by extensive discounting and promotional activity. The latest data from SeaFish/AC Nielsen shows that pollock sales over the last 52 weeks have grown by 217% whilst those for cod have declined by 19%.  

Although this rebrand and launch implies that ‘Colin’ will be available to compete with cod, it is not clear exactly what form the new ‘Colin’ product will take. The pictures show an outer sleeve only. The Daily Mirror is the only paper to mention a specific product. They say that ten Basics ‘Colin’ fish fingers will be 49p as compared with £1.79 for the top cod variety.

Currently, 10 Basics fish fingers actually cost 47p (£1.88/kg) whereas Sainsbury’s own-label (MSC) cod fish fingers work out at £4.98/kg and the Birds Eye version (the £1.79 product) at £5.97/kg. The Daily Mirror says that ‘Colin’ will work out at £1.60/kg less than comparative cod but this is based on the chilled skinless and boneless cod and not the price of frozen fish fingers.

Whilst there appears to be a great deal of confusion about the fish; its name; its price and even its origin, one of the interesting aspects of this launch is the limited edition packaging that has been designed by fashion designer Wayne Hemmingway. He has taken inspiration from another well-known pollock – artist Jackson Pollock and the packs are being trialled in just 10 stores. Unfortunately, we have yet to lay our hands on an example so can only go by the photos issued during the launch. We think that this is a bold design for such a humble product. Whether this radical new design will be accepted by consumers remains to be seen. However, this whole exercise of renaming and redesign offers a great deal of scope for other fish species.

The Norwegians have already set a precedent with new names as the 250 millionth fish to be exported was named ‘Simon’. This was a little different as this was ‘Simon the Salmon’ but there is no reason why it cannot be shortened to just ‘Simon’ giving us ‘Simon fillets’ and ‘Simon steaks’. Trout could be renamed ‘Timothy’ and we could call cod ‘Courtney’. The possibilities are endless.

The Sainsbury’s design team were given an easy choice when asked to revamp pollock. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) is a well known artist with a very distinctive style. Perhaps they would have been more challenged for a different species. For example, if it had been salmon, they could have used the works of Robert Salmon (1775- 1858) especially since he painted maritime scenes.

As we have indicated, this story has prompted many comments on the websites of all the on-line newspapers. One, which has been repeated more than once, is to describe the story as a ‘load of cobblers’. (One definition of the word cobblers is ‘nonsense’). However, it is also a name (River Cobbler) that has been given by a couple of the major UK supermarkets to pangasius, another example of rebranding fish in an attempt to make it more acceptable to the consumer. ‘Cobblers’ can also have the same meaning as ‘pollocks’ so we can only hope that any customers shopping for pangasius will overcome their embarrassment!!