Fresh: Meat, Fish & Poultry: Top Products 2019

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Fresh meat sales are in freefall. A staggering £184.6m has been wiped off the category’s value after volumes fell 2.8%.

Every sector of red meat is in decline. Beef led the way with a £77.3m drop, while bacon fell £45.5m and pork shed £21.1m. But even poultry lost value, with rotisserie products, turkey and duck sales suffering a combined £20.2m blow. Chicken was the only sector in growth, with sales up by £19.1m.

It would be easy to attribute this performance to the plant-based movement, which has gathered pace since a study by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggested eating less meat could help reduce greenhouse emissions.

But the slump in supermarket meat sales isn’t necessarily driven by Brits cutting back on meat. In fact, these figures have much more to do with the ongoing dominance of the discounters, argues AHDB head of retail and foodservice Matt Southam.

That’s because Nielsen’s read of the market excludes Aldi and Lidl. If their sales were taken into account, the category would actually be in growth, Southam suggests.

“The rate of store openings by the discounters and a change in perception around quality in these retailers has driven sales growth,” he says.

Fresh meat cuts have also felt the impact of consumers moving towards convenience-led, prepared products, adds Southam. He points to the glut of ready-to-cook meat products unleashed by the mults this year.

“We’ve seen a lot of products with rubs, marinades and sauces,” Southam adds. “What we’re seeing in sales isn’t necessarily a terminal decline, it’s just people changing the way they consume meat.”

Brits are also eating more fish, the data suggests. Long-standing inflationary pressures have eased, leading to a fall in average prices. Salmon prices are down 3.6%, while king prawns are down 4.7%.

That has led to a 1.2% rise in volume sales of fresh fish, equating to an extra 5.4 million units. The effect was particularly apparent in salmon, which saw a 5.6% increase in volumes.

The Top Products

In association with nielsen

Top 10 Fresh meat
			£m	change (£m)	change (%)
		Total Category:	4088.8	-184.6	-4.3
Total volume change:	-2.8%

This year’s rank	Last year’s rank	Brand	£m	change (£m)	change (%)
1	1	Beef	1844.3	-77.3	-4.0
2	2	Bacon	663.2	-45.5	-6.4
3	3	Sausage	529.9	-26.1	-4.7
4	4	Pork	467.0	-21.1	-4.3
5	5	Lamb	395.7	-6.3	-1.6
6	6	Gammon	158.9	-7.0	-4.2
7	9	Beef & Pork	8.8	1.2	15.8
8	8	Bacon & Pork	8.6	-0.1	-1.5
9	7	Venison	7.9	-1.6	-16.6
10	11	Veal	2.4	-0.1	-5.9

Top 5 Fresh poultry
			£m	change (£m)	change (%)
		Total Category:	2140.5	-1.7	-0.1
Total volume change:	1.4%

This year’s rank	Last year’s rank	Brand	£m	change (£m)	change (%)
1	1	Chicken	1693.6	19.1	1.1
2	2	Rotisserie	251.4	-11.3	-4.3
3	3	Turkey	156.9	-7.8	-4.7
4	4	Duck	30.7	-1.2	-3.7
5	5	Poussin	2.7	-0.5	-16.8

Top 10 Fresh fish
			£m	change (£m)	change (%)
		Total Category:	1580.9	-23.1	-1.4
Total volume change:	1.2%

This year’s rank	Last year’s rank		£m	change (£m)	change (%)
1	1	Salmon	800.8	-5.4	-0.7
2	2	Cod	185.9	0.9	0.5
3	3	King Prawns	151.8	0.5	0.3
4	4	Haddock	136.2	-3.2	-2.3
5	5	Prawn	94.8	-3.2	-3.3
6	6	Sea Bass	54.2	-2.5	-4.4
7	7	Mixed Seafood	33.5	-0.3	-0.8
8	8	Tuna	29.6	-3.4	-10.3
9	11	Basa	17.2	0.3	1.6
10	12	Mussel	16.0	0.3	2.2

The Grocer’s Top Launch

Saucy Fish Flexitarian

Saucy Fish Co flexitarian lines by Seachill

Seachill’s flagship brand embraced the flexitarianism craze in March with a selection of “trailblazing” fish ‘n’ veg options for the freezer. The seven-strong lineup includes Cod Croquettes, Salmon & Chive Röstis, and Basa Melts designed to be a lighter substitute for chicken kiev. Aimed at occasions such as meat-free Monday, all are “perfect for those with a busy lifestyle looking for quick, flavoursome and healthy meal alternatives to meat” says The Saucy Fish Co.