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New products and advertising budgets bolster frozen food growth in Britain: fish leads increase, with Young's and Birds Eye vying for dominance. Retailer strategies at mainstream and specialty chains also factors in stimulating value and volume increases.

Article Excerpt
Retail frozen food sales increased 4.2% in the United Kingdom during the 52-week period preceding March 2008, according to the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), with fish the leading sector in growth. Potato products ranked second, followed by meat and poultry, and vegetables.

Reasons for the upswing, according to the BFFF, included a raft of new and revised products supported with creative and educational advertising, and advocacy from outside the industry.

The most influential cheerleader for frozens at the moment would seem to be Delia Smith, who has a weekly prime-time television program about cooking on the BBC and a popular website, www.deliaonline.com. In her recent book, Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking, readers are told how to rid themselves of unjustified prejudices against frozen food. "With modern techniques of blast freezing, the 'freshness' of foods is not impaired," she explains.

The author is not shy about mentioning specific companies. Needless to say, they have not been slow to build on her views in promotional campaigns.

The total increase in retail sales of fish for the twelve months prior to late-March 2008 was 10.9% in value and 7.3% in volume. Competition between Young's and Birds Eye, the two leading brands, which launched new products and waged vigorous advertising campaigns, propelled the sector forward; but major retailers are also helping to achieve the positive results.

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Young's underwent a structural change on Feb. 1, 2008, as the private equity firm CapVest, which acquired Young's in 2002 and Findus in 2006, ceased operating the holdings as separate sister companies and joined them in a single structure called the FoodVest Group [See page 81 of the April, 2008, issue of Quick Frozen Foods International].

With the change, Young's was split into two branches--Young's Seafood, which is operating as a brand-name business developing frozen and chilled products; and the Seafood Company, which is concentrating on private label.

Early this year Young's launched a new brand, Great Grimsby, with much publicity. On Jan. 22 the first Great Grimsby Day was celebrated in London, with a photo shoot at Westminster and free samples distributed at Waterloo Station. In Grimsby, home of Young's, a supplement appeared in the local newspaper, along with a celebration with the Grimsby Town Football Club, among other initiatives.

Research released by Young's shows that customers prefer seafood that is sustainably sourced. The initial Great Grimsby line is composed of seven traditional frozen or chilled products, using wild Alaskan cod, caught by long line in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands fishery and certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Among the items is 2 Smoked Haddock Fish Cakes, which can be oven baked or grilled.

In competition with Young's are Birds Eye Fish Fingers, which the company has rebranded and repackaged as Omega 3 Fish Fingers. Packaging text explains that the fish content is 100% Alaska Pollock fillet material sourced from an MSC-certified fishery. The species is naturally rich in fatty acids, which are believed have a positive impact in the prevention of heart disease, stroke and possibly diabetes. Therefore no Omega 3 need be added to the fillets. A box of a dozen fingers weighs 360 grams and costs about 2 [pounds sterling].

Birds Eye invested heavily in magazine and television advertising emphasizing the product's healthfulness. Three entities complained to the UK Advertising Standards Authority, charging that the fish fingers do not contain enough Omega 3 to support the association.

In the end, however, Birds Eye succeeded in substantiating its claims (independent testing shows that the fish contains an average of 135 milligrams of Omega 3 per 100 grams of fish), and thus the Authority required no action from Birds Eye.

Sainsbury's is selling an upscale Taste the Difference Fishcakes product under its own label.

Marks & Spencer, meanwhile, offers a variety of new seafood products including packages of 12 semi-peeled Madagascar Prawns for 5.49 [pounds sterling], and Cod in Butter Sauce sold raw in a boiling...

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