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Issue link: https://seafoodbusiness.epubxp.com/i/72022
Global Retail Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has created a line of frozen seafood for Young's. increasing in value from £580 million (€724.6 million, $900.3 million) to about £760 million (€949.6, mil- lion, $1.2 billion) over the same period. Brian Young, director gen- eral of the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), says that frozen fi sh is outperforming the overall frozen market. As well as the relative af- fordability of frozen fi sh products, these increases can be partly attributed to new product development and broader off erings from re- tailers and brands. Birds Eye, a name synony- Shaking up the aisles Frozen fi sh comes to the fore when the chips are down BY JASON HOLLAND R ecession news is zen food good for the fro- category — the tougher the economy gets, favor of comparably cheaper frozen foods. In an economically weak- ened Europe, food producers have responded well to the needs of families looking for more cost-eff ective ways to keep everyone fed. In many cases, this has required the expansion of frozen product ranges or the creation of com- pletely new lines. T e result is that while 36 SeaFood Business July 2012 more consumers turn their backs on fresh products the in fresh is still considered the best option by most Euro- pean consumers, particularly in markets like Spain, France and Italy, frozen isn't the ugly stepchild any more. T e German and Russian mar- kets rely heavily on frozen fi sh and this is increasingly becoming the case in the United Kingdom. T e benefi ts of frozen are well documented, from shelf life and convenience to re- taining nutritional contents and reducing food waste, but far and away the big- gest asset that frozen has is its aff ordability — it invari- ably off ers shoppers value for their money. Research by T eNewIce- Age.com confi rms that U.K. shoppers switching to frozen food can save around 34 per- cent on their weekly grocer- ies. T is analysis, compiled by the Centre for Food In- novation at Sheffi eld Hallam University, shows a basket of frozen groceries bought for a family of four including sea- food products like salmon, costs on average just £15.45 (€19.33, $24.20) compared to the same items bought fresh at £23.25 (€29.09, $26.41). T is represents a saving of £405.60 (€507.44, $635.21) per year. Despite 2011 tough year for the U.K. food industry, as a direct of the population's shrink- ing disposable income, frozen food being a result the retail market increased in value by 5.2 per- cent. According to Kantar Worldpanel, the value of the total U.K. frozen market is just under £5.4 billion (€6.7 billion, $8.4 billion) per year, up from its valuation at the end of 2006 of £4.4 billion (€5.5 billion, $6.8 billion). And frozen seafood prod- ucts are riding this wave, mous with frozen food — selling around 185 million of its iconic cod and haddock fi sh fi ngers to the U.K. mar- ket — continues to lead from the front. Last year, the com- pany added new products to its successful Bake to Perfec- tion line, comprising fi sh in a straight-to-the-oven baking bag. Its latest concept is a Fish Fusions range, which com- prises lightly coated Alaska pollock infused with diff erent fl avor combinations: Lemon & Black Pepper, Garlic & Herb and Lime & Chili. T e expanded range aims to off er more inspiration for mid-week mealtimes and to also "inject some variety into the coated fi sh sector," accord- ing to Birds Eye. T e 74-year-old company says recent research it con- ducted shows that while con- sumers still love traditional classic fi sh coatings of bread- crumbs or batter, they're often looking for something more special or slightly diff erent. T e report, Changing Plates, which Birds Eye pro- duced in collaboration with the University of Oxford to look into family mealtime eating habits, confi rms the Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com Photo courtesy of Young's Seafood Ltd.