Fish and meat have benefited from fresh thinking in product and packaging development. A good example is the microwaveable can, developed by International Fish Canners from an earlier project with John West. The 200g cans of tuna lasagne and tuna moussaka come in a cardboard sleeve and are too new to have any listings. Sales and marketing manager Philip Andrade explains what's different about the product:"The consumer takes the can out of the cardboard, takes the metal lid off of the plastic dish, and turns the sleeve upside down to hold the can for cooking in the microwave. Although the food heats up, the cardboard doesn't and can be used to retrieve the can from the microwave." Other manufacturers have taken the decision to launch products that are different from the rest. Some, such as Ye Olde Oak's premium ham with mustard and peppercorns, have no equivalent anywhere else in the store. "It is a layered accompaniment not currently available in the chiller," explains marketing manager James Wareing. The line has been selling in Sainsbury, Somerfield and Safeway at £1.59. Princes claims to have been the first brand to identify the opportunity for a range of snack fish meals with its Lunchbreaks and then tuna salads. Its fish ranges were among the first to move into printed ringpull cans. Princes has also developed innovative corned beef products including spicy corned beef, a lean corned beef and a range of sandwich variants. This year will see further developments. Added value tuna represents a small but rapidly growing £12m segment of the £168m canned tuna market. Last November, it recorded 5.8% year on year growth after a strong summer performance. John West's role in value added tuna claims a 73.8% share by volume, up from 68% last year. "The sector is driven by our Light Lunch range ­ we've added 20% to the market with this summer's launch," says Heinz UK seafood business director Ian Meadows. "We're interested in innovation rather than just range extensions." {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

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