Salmon sales are key to the British high street’s success in November and December.
It’s now less than 100 days until Christmas – so what is the grocery industry hedging its bets on for the festive period ahead? Salmon is a best seller in the UK and food markets generally do well over Christmas.
According to total figures for salmon sales (total frozen and chilled) in 2017, there was a 34.4% increase in sales over over the festive period.
A spokesperson for high-end retailer Waitrose (which is supplied by Mowi) told SalmonBusiness that the pink fish is key to the festive period and beyond: “Salmon is one of the best-selling fish at Waitrose & Partners, and we are currently seeing an increase of 8% in sales of salmon, which includes smoked salmon, pre-packed fresh salmon and salmon on our service counters”.
Waitrose salmon proves extremely popular at Christmas, it explained.
“When we see a seasonal increase in sales, as well as searches on Waitrose.com. Searches for Salmon en Croute increased by 150% in December, compared to November last year, and searches for smoked salmon soared by 100% as shoppers looked to stock up on fish for their festive feasts”.
Its best selling salmon products at Waitrose & Partners are:
- In smoked salmon – Waitrose Smoked Salmon 100g
- In pre-packed – Waitrose & Partners Two Scottish Salmon Fillets
- On the service counter – Scottish Salmon Fillets
Tesco – gets its fish from Grieg Seafood Shetland – will have a new addition to its salmon range: Finest Dressed Spruce Smoked Scottish Salmon Side which has been smoked using Christmas tree spruce chippings instead standard wood chips.
Aldi, suplied by Mowi, would not disclose prices but told SalmonBusiness that it had a new Specially Selected Trio of Gin Infused Smoked Salmon range for Christmas. Each pack contains three different salmons infused with three different types of Aldi gin.
Marks & Spencer sources from Scottish Sea Farms for its own Lochmuir brand. On Thursday, it revealed its new Christmas food collection with the addition of a new Christmas Gin Scottish Smoked Salmon range for £5.
Asda, which has been supplied by Young’s Seafood in the past, is betting on a new 2019 gin-smoked salmon range, which has been soaked in Scottish gin before being topped with lemon zest and crushed juniper berries.
