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Source: Unsplash

Publishing: 25 November 2023

Advertising deadline: 9 November 2023

Submissions deadline: 7 November 2023

FEATURE ONE

By Kevin White kevin.white@thegrocer.co.uk

Certain types of fish – for example, battered fillets and value-added products – are in strong growth. Why? Which brands, suppliers and retailers are driving this growth? To what extent is this being driven by people trading down from chip shop meals to the supermarkets? And how are soaring prices affecting the wider market?

Fresh v frozen: This feature will pay close attention to the performances of fresh and frozen fish products over the past year and explore the factors that are affecting both parts of the market. What are retailers and their suppliers doing to return fresh and frozen fish sales to growth?

Brands v own-label: With average retail prices of fish soaring over the past year, to what extent have shoppers been trading down to own-label fish products? And what are brands doing in terms of marketing and innovation to hold on to market share?

Innovation: This feature will explore the extent to which retailers and brands have been launching new products to maintain consumer interest in the category. We will profile eight of the most interesting new launches (four fresh; four frozen) in a separate panel. Please provide full product details (including rsp, pack weight, launch date, stockists, etc) and a high res image)

FEATURE TWO

By Grace Duncan grace.duncan@thegrocer.co.uk

It’s enough to put you off your fish n chips. Half the UK’s 10 most critical fish stocks are being jeopardised by overfishing or population collapse, a September report warned. In the same month, another report claimed that the intensification of UK fish farms – often billed as a solution to overfishing – is causing sea lice and jellyfish infestations. Meanwhile, major seafood importers have been told to improve labour standards. So, what is the industry doing to address these criticisms? What impact is all this having on public appetite for fish, fish supplies and retail prices? And how much of an opportunity is this for suppliers of alternative fish species and plant-based alternatives?

Ethics and sustainability: This feature will pay close attention to recent criticisms of the fishing industry and the efforts seafood suppliers, trade bodies and retailers say they are taking to improve things. Are the criticisms fair? How worried should consumers be? And how are they responding?

Assurance schemes: This feature will also look at how much water ethics and sustainability assurance schemes hold and what they’re doing to improve the industry’s record? How has demand for certified ‘sustainable’ fish products changed in the past year?

Supplies and price: The UK is facing a looming seafood shortage, according to a report released in October. Why? To what extent are dwindling supplies impacting prices? Is this a regional or local problem? Are suppliers able to switch to alternatives import markets or different species?

Exports and imports: Before Brexit, there was talk of encouraging more people in the UK to eat more mackerel, herring and other native species so less needed to be exported. Has that happened?

Plant-based alternatives: With the seafood in increasingly stormy waters regarding its sustainability and ethical record, what are suppliers of plant-based fish alternatives doing to cash in? How big is the market for fish alternatives in the UK right now and is it in growth? Who are the biggest brands and are there any new entrants of note?

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