Frozen seafood sales are moving at a faster rate than chilled as consumers see the category in a new light, says Hugh Taylor, category development controller at Young's Seafood Recent market data shows that frozen seafood is benefiting from consumers' reassessment of the frozen food category as a whole - reversing the image that frozen gained in the 1970s and 80s as mainly the place to find budget, lower-quality food. Latest Nielsen market figures to April show that frozen seafood has moved ahead of chilled in growth terms for the first time in recent memory. Now worth a massive £745m, frozen seafood is the biggest and most buoyant sector of the whole frozen category - currently growing at 5%. There is also evidence of consumers switching from chilled into frozen seafood in key sectors such as prawns and natural fish. In a recent Young's consumer survey, 32% agreed with the statement 'I think that frozen fish is just as healthy as fresh fish'. This figure rises to 42% among heavy category users. Consumers also value the convenience that frozen fish gives them, with a quarter of chilled seafood consumers agreeing that they prefer to buy fresh fish but buy frozen as a back-up or stand-by. Frozen also has the obvious benefit of helping to reduce food waste in the home. Strong brand advertising in the seafood category has undoubtedly helped to turn around consumer perceptions of frozen and the role of a specialist brand in the shape of Young's cannot be underestimated. The Young's brand gives consumers the reassurance that the fish they are buying will be good quality and the confidence to try new formats and species. The frozen category has also taken the lead on promoting the benefits of Omega-3 with Young's actively marketing and supporting Omega-3 in its Chip Shop range, which has driven incremental category growth. Naturalness and health are core consumer benefits for all seafood but this is particularly highlighted by growth of the frozen natural category - currently £86m and the fastest-growing sector of frozen seafood, up 13% in the past year. There is a lot of good news about the frozen seafood category but there is still headroom for growth, with penetration significantly behind chilled in some sectors. To unlock this sales potential will take continued education of the consumer as to the benefits of frozen. It will also require improvements to the retail environment to make the frozen aisle equally as enjoyable a place to shop as any other part of the store. However, once people are there, they will now find plenty of reasons to keep coming back.

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