Callander McDowell

reLAKSation no 423

Blown out of proportion: It’s not often we get to comment on news about Callander McDowell but IntraFish reported on our view of the US market as discussed in reLAKSation no 422.

Børge Grønbech of the Norwegian Seafood Export Councils’ US office has described our comments as ‘incomprehensible’, a response which we find extremely surprising. We can only wonder that Mr Grønbech is not used to such public scrutiny and therefore why it must be incomprehensible to him. Mr Grønbech’s outburst is reminiscent of a similar response by the Scottish industry, which sees any debate about the methods utilised in the promotion of their salmon as being akin to a direct attack on salmon farming. Of course, nothing is further from the truth.

Our comment in reLAKSation no 422 neither attacked farmed salmon, whether from Norway or not, nor the Norwegian Seafood Export Council. Instead our comments were directed at those contracted by NSEC to promote Norwegian salmon on their behalf. Regular readers of reLAKSation will know that we, at Callander McDowell, are passionate advocates of farmed salmon and the salmon farming industry. We comment because WE CARE. Could it be that those who are contracted to promote salmon see their role as just a job and Norwegian salmon is just one more product in a long line of products with which they deal? Certainly our observations suggest that some of their actions are just a little half hearted.

Mr Grønbech has picked up on the points we made so we would like the right of reply. If our Norwegian translation is correct, and we can only apologise if we have misread what was said, then Mr Grønbech has indicated that the three Norwegian Seafood Ambassadors were selected by a competition in which chefs were asked to submit a recipe. If this was simply a recipe competition then it wouldn’t matter what these chefs served in their restaurants. However, once these chefs were elevated to the position of Norwegian Seafood Ambassador, then what they cook is relevant and thus it does matter that one of the chefs serves Scottish salmon in his restaurant.

Mr Grønbech added that the menu given on Crabtree's Kittle House website was actually out of date and that is why it listed Scottish salmon on the menu and that the new menu lists Norwegian salmon instead. Of course it does now. The menu has been changed in response to our comments. It doesn’t take much effort to switch the word Scottish to Norwegian so that the salmon dish on the ‘new’ menu is now  pan seared Norwegian salmon fillet, cranberry beans, baby arugula purée, roast garlic buerre blanc. Sound familiar? It’s the same dish as on the previous menu only now it is made from Norwegian salmon instead of salmon from Scotland.

The only problem for us is that we cannot understand how the Scottish variation of the menu is deemed to be out of date. This is because Crabtree’s Kittle House relaunched their whole website at the beginning of October. The following two messages appeared on Twitter – ‘

The new version of the Kittle House website is well on its way! Check out the makings of the new site! http://www.kittlehouse.com/ 12:05 PM Sep 18th’

– ‘we're live! presenting the new and much improved: www.kittlehouse.com 11:34 AM Oct 2nd.’ 

Why would any restaurant launching a new website include an out of date menu? The answer is simply that no-one thought to ask about the sort of food these new Ambassadors actually cook until we raised the question.

Twitter allows people to send messages as long as they are no longer than 140 characters long. We have already included two examples as sent by the Kittle House. Mr Grønbech says that it is easy to take these messages out of context. We disagree. Twitter is part of the new wave of social networking. It is open and available to the public at large and as a result it has spawned some major issues especially in the cross over area between work and private lives. In the UK, there have been a spate of well-publicised sackings because people have written things about their work on social network sites which should have remained private. The clear lesson is never mix work and pleasure on such sites as it can only lead to trouble. This is exactly what has happened here. Mr Grøbech has said that the intense amount of work leading up to the event resulted in the comments about smelling of salmon that were intended to be in a positive jocular tone, however he said that anyone reading it after having had a bad day might read more negative connotations into the message. Well, good or bad day we cannot see anything jocular about saying that they smell of salmon. The implication is that fish smells and smell is one of the major factors that seems to deter consumers from buying fresh fish. Where’s the joke in that?

The other point we made was when Chef Renaa said that he was personally a bit tired of salmon in the 80’s and 90’s. Børge Grønbech says that Chef Renaa is being open and honest which shows that he has integrity. Whether he has integrity or not is largely irrelevant as surely the reason why he was brought to America was to demonstrate a recipe. Consumers are not naïve in that they know chefs have to earn a living and that they take part in promotions to boost their income. He may have integrity but Jamie Oliver makes a lot of money from taking part in TV commercials for Sainsbury’s supermarkets. We don’t hear Jamie say he prefers to shop at Tesco even if he did. Last week, we saw Marcus Wareing, Michelin starred chef at London’s restaurant of the year, promoting food mixers in London’s Oxford Street branch of the John Lewis department store but we are sure we won’t find one of these food mixers in his kitchen!   

Finally, Mr Grønbech says that our comments were based on secondary sources and therefore we didn’t know all the facts. We have previously written 421 other mailings and not one person has ever questioned our sources, which we openly quote. In this case most of our information came from the salmon experience website set up to publicise this event. This provided information about the chefs and the event itself. We also took information from IntraFish and Fiskaren/Fiskeribladet which they quote and which regularly publicised information from NSEC. We also used Twitter as Mr Grønbech acknowledges but so does his office - http://twitter.com/salmoninseconds . We don’t know how knowing any more of the background would change anything. The Kittle House was still serving Scottish salmon, Chef Renaa was still tired of salmon in the 80’ and 90’s however, we suspect that the employee of the Food Group who smelt of salmon no longer does so having had a number of showers since then. (We have not been able to copy the actual tweet, as a communication on twitter is known, because after we highlighted the message, it was removed).

Mr Grønbech told IntraFish that there had been a good response from cooks and journalists but he was still waiting to see what sort of publicity the event managed to create. We suspect that Mr Grønbech might be a little disappointed. This is because the arrival of salmon from Norway is not particularly a news-worthy story. There’s already plenty of salmon in US supermarkets, most of which is sold as Atlantic salmon rather than from an identified source. Salmon isn’t new and neither is it news-worthy at least, not in relation to a different origin. Most consumers wouldn’t be able to tell one piece of salmon from another so would undoubtedly ask what is so different about Norwegian salmon, other than it comes from Norway.

Norwegian salmon has however made a big impact on the market because without it, there would have been a serious shortfall in supply. Norway has been able to step in and fill the gap left by reduced supplies from Chile enabling consumers to continue buying farmed salmon without interruption.

The fundamental question is what will happen to the US market when Chilean supplies recover. This may not be for a couple of years yet and thus Norway still has time to become established. NSEC’s intention is that its promotional activities, which began in New York earlier this month, will establish the Norwegian identity in consumers’ minds and thus hopefully create a form of loyalty which will keep Norwegian salmon in the US marketplace.

We, at Callander McDowell, are not hopeful that this will work. We have watched various markets over the years and have yet to see any form of loyalty develop at retail level that’s based on solely on country of origin. We’d like to illustrate this claim with a current example from the UK market. The UK is a little different to other markets because there is a significant home production that affects buying decisions. Yet, despite the availability of local production, there is still plenty of imported salmon to be found in most supermarkets. This example comes from the UK retailer Morrisons which claims to only sell fresh and smoked salmon that is produced in Scotland under the Freedom Food welfare standard. Morrisons has tended to focus its sales on the raw ingredients rather than offer the convenience products which are readily available in other stores. However, Morrisons realised that it could not ignore this sector altogether and has produced a range of ready to cook dishes under the ‘Fresh Ideas’ label. These include products made from beef, pork, chicken and some fish. One of the fish dishes is salmon fillet with soy, honey and ginger glaze. When this product first appeared in the summer, the label clearly stated that the salmon was Scottish and Freedom Food accredited but this month, the product was repacked and although the weight and price remain the same (and the manufacturer), the label now just states salmon fillets without any reference to origin or welfare. So why has the product changed? We would suggest that high salmon prices have made Scottish Freedom Food salmon too expensive to use in salmon dishes and as a result, any good intention to only use such salmon has vanished.

It is not just welfare reared salmon that has disappeared from added value dishes. The higher price of salmon has seen the widespread substitution of farmed salmon in such products with cheaper Pink or Chum salmon from the Pacific. Price is critical and if Chile can return to the US market at a competitive price, we are in no doubt that any newly formed loyalty to Norwegian salmon will disappear overnight except in some specialist niche markets. The presence of Norwegian Seafood Ambassadors or any sophisticated promotional activities will not make any difference. Norwegian salmon will simply be priced out of the marketplace. It won’t help either if Ole Eirik Leroy’s concern about Norway’s strengthening currency comes to fruition. According to IntraFish, he told delegates at the Bergen Seafood Conference that a stronger Kroner could weaken Norway’s competitiveness.

However much effort is put into promoting Norwegian salmon in the US market, it will be just as easy for Crabtrees Kittle House to change back to Scottish salmon as it was to change the menu to Norwegian. This is the main problem with marketing salmon based on origin. One piece of salmon can be easily substituted for another. NSEC is currently sending out recipes on Twitter. One of the most recent was Horseradish crusted salmon w/mashed potatoes. The recipe is described as simple spicy Norwegian salmon encrusted with horseradish and topped with rich mashed potatoes (although the photo of the dish supplied does not reflect this as the potatoes are placed on the side of the dish and do not coat the salmon).

The question is if a US consumer decides to try cooking the recipe and then finds that his/her supermarket is only selling salmon from Chile, does he/she decide to look for another recipe or just makes the dish using Chilean salmon? The answer is that they just buy what ever is available. Norwegian, Scottish, Canadian, Chilean, Irish, US salmon are all interchangeable and dare we even suggest that it will work with wild Pacific salmon too.

The battleground for market share will not be fought over origin but price. Of this, there is no doubt.

Yet, we believe that Norwegian salmon could still establish a long term foothold in the US market. However, to do this Norway must focus on a different purchasing factor than origin or price. It’s our opinion that market share can be won if the focus is changed to one of convenience. Whether Norway is up to this challenge is a totally different question altogether. It will require a totally different train of thought, well away from the usual promotional activities. It’s about expanding the market and grabbing a market share that others have ignored, backed by all the traditional values of Norwegian salmon.

As a last thought, and whilst the journalists who attended the Norwegian Salmon Experience consider what, if anything, that they will write about the event, others have grabbed the market headlines. There has been widespread coverage of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s list of Super Green Seafoods including the New York Times. Their report was headlined ‘Nudging Grocers and Consumers toward more healthy – and sustainable – seafood. This is fish that is environmentally sustainable, high in omega 3s and low in contaminants, every thing that Norwegian salmon actually is. However, Norwegian salmon doesn’t get a mention at all. Instead, the recommendation is for consumers to eat wild caught salmon from Alaska. This is the message that New York consumers have received and not the one about Norway’s entry into the US salmon market. This is much more incomprehensible.

US Market watch: This week’s special offers on farmed salmon in the US market:

Albertson’s – Atlantic salmon portion 6oz $3.99 each

Andronico’s – Atlantic salmon portion $6.99/lb

Associated Supermarkets – Salmon fillet $7.99/lb

Biggs – Atlantic salmon side $6.99/lb, fillet $7.99/lb

- Scottish organic salmon fillet $10.99/lb

Big Y – Atlantic salmon fillet $7.47/lb

Bilo – Salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Bruno’s – Atlantic salmon fillet $5.99/lb save $2/lb

Buehler’s – Atlantic salmon fillet $8.99/lb

Busch’s – Jail Island Canadian salmon fillets $6.99/lb

Butera Market – Norwegian salmon fillet $5.99/lb

Cub – Atlantic salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Dierberg’s – US Steelhead salmon $7.99/lb

Foodland – Atlantic salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Genuardi’s – Scottish salmon fillet $5.99/lb

Giant – Salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Giant Eagle – Canadian salmon fillet (Bay of Fundy) $7.99/lb

Glens Markets – Atlantic salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Grand Markets – Norwegian salmon fillets $7.99/lb

Hornbacher’s – Norwegian salmon fillets $7.98/lb

Jewel Osco – Salmon portion 6oz $3.99 each

King Food – Salmon steaks $6.99/lb

Kings – Black Pearl Scottish salmon fillet $9.99/lb

Kowalski’s – Steelhead salmon fillet $7.99/lb save $2/lb

Kuhns – Salmon fillet $7.99/kg

Landi’s – Salmon fillet  $7.69/lb

Magruder’s – Salmon fillet $6.49/lb

Market Basket – Scottish salmon fillet $8.99/lb

Met Foods – Salmon fillet $7.99/lb

Nugget Markets – Sweet Spring farmed Coho salmon 5oz $7.99 each

Rainbow – Atlantic salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Randall’s – Norwegian salmon fillet $5.99/lb save $4/lb

Shaw’s – Atlantic salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Shoppers – Atlantic salmon portions 6oz $3.99 each

Smiths – Atlantic salmon $5.99/lb

Super One – Norwegian salmon fillet $8.99/lb

Thriftway – Salmon fillet $7.99/lb

Tom Thumb – Norwegian salmon fillet $5.99/lb

UKrops – Whole salmon side $7.48/lb

VG Grocery – Atlantic salmon fillet $6.99/lb save $2/lb

Weis – Norwegian salmon portion 6oz $3.99 save $1 each

Wiseway – Salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Yokes – Salmon steak $6.29/lb

Offers on wild Pacific salmon

Bakers – Pacific salmon fillet 50% off was $6.99/lb

Basha's – Coho salmon fillet $5.99/lb

Bloom – Sockeye salmon fillet $6.99/lb save $2/lb

Carrs – Sockeye salmon fillet $8.99/lb

Dillons -Pacific salmon fillet 50% off was $6.99/lb

D&W Markets – Sockeye salmon fillet $9.99/lb

Food Pavillion – Sockeye salmon fillet $6.98/lb

Fred Meyer – Silver salmon fillet $4.99/lb

Fry's – Sockeye salmon fillet $6.99/lb save $2/lb

Giant Foods – Coho salmon fillet $8.99/lb

Harris Teeter – Sockeye salmon fillet $8.99/lb save $1/lb

HEB – Sockeye salmon fillet $7.99/lb

Heinen's – Sockeye salmon fillet $9.99/lb save $1/lb

Hilander – Silverbrite salmon fillet $3.99/lb

Landis – Alaskan King salmon fillet $11.99/lb

Market Basket – Fresh Alaskan King salmon fillet $18.99/lb

New Season Markets – Chinook salmon fillet $16.99/lb save $2/lb

Pavillion – Sockeye salmon fillet $6.99/lb

Roth's – Whole Sockeye salmon $3.99/lb

Scolaris – Silver salmon fillet $5.99/lb save $3/lb

Shop n Save – Sockeye salmon fillet $7.99/lb

Stater Bros – Whole Keta salmon $2.99/lb

Ultra Foods – Pacific salmon portion 1.5lb $5.99 each

Wegman – Fresh Coho salmon fillet 6oz $5.62 each

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