Seafood Calendar
there are at least 30 different specifications in its range, says Leigh. But she says that while flavor innovation has been important to the company's success, it's not a "clinical, lab- coat" producer. "I think when people buy
smoked salmon they want it to taste of smoked salmon. All these quirky twists on convention are good and well, but when we do 'specialty smoked,' as we call it, we're not looking to increase our
"The smoked whitefish sector has been in the doldrums for some time because the products are largely overlooked and undervalued by U.K. consumers."
— Steve Norton, chief executive, Grimsby Fish Merchants Assoc.
sales by producing something for the sake of it or as a mar- keting ploy; we only look to create a product that is truly enhanced by the process."
Inspiring others While the U.K.'s smoked
salmon sector is booming, the country's ailing smoked whitefish industry struggles to attract new, younger con- sumers to the category. Tis stagnation has not gone un- noticed by the industry and a new project was launched in August upon receipt of £60,000 (€75,830; $95,290) European and industry fund- ing to tackle the problem. Led by an offshoot of the Fish Merchants (GFMA),
Grimsby Association the
project's main aims are to improve consumer aware- ness of
traditional smoking
methods and to enhance the profile of this niche industry in high-end retail and food- service markets. It plans to achieve this by creating a brand identity, an interactive
website and attendance at specialty food events. Te project, which runs
through December 2013, has fostered a collaboration of industry partners, including the GFMA, Alfred Ender- by, Sealord (Caistor) Ltd., Seachill, Te Smokeyard Ar- tisan Smokehouse, Arbroath Smokies, Te Fish Mongers Co., as well as smoked salmon producers John Ross Jr. and Coln Valley. GFMA Chief Executive
Steve Norton believes the broader smoked fish sector could learn from smoked salmon producers. Smoked salmon is in the "upper quar- tile of luxury foods," he says, but because of modern pric- ing and strong branding it remains popular. "Unfortunately, the
smoked whitefish sector has been in the doldrums for some time because the prod- ucts are largely overlooked and undervalued by U.K. consumers," says Norton. "We want to get to the sub-
35-year-olds. Te smoked sec- tor tends to have an older de- mographic so a lot of this will be education — letting people know that there's a history and also a future," he says. Andy Gray of the Sea Fish
Industry Authority (Seafish), which provided part of the funding, says the project is geared toward increasing the market for smoked whitefish, but will inevitably end up pro- moting smoked salmon. "It's unavoidable because
when U.K. shoppers think of fish, most probably think of salmon; and when it comes to smoked fish, most people think of smoked salmon and usually of the cold-smoked variety. Tey don't under- stand there are different forms and different production tech- niques involved," he says.
Contributing Editor Jason Holland lives in London
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October 2012 SeaFood Business 43