Young’s Seafood is looking to capitalise on the strong growth in chilled sales as it introduces a new product to the extensive range.
The market-leading Grimsby giant has added Hot Smoked Sea Bass under its Hooked brand, with Waitrose taking the first-of-its-kind addition.
Chilled sales are up 14 per cent year-on-year, with those crunching the data suggesting shoppers have been recreating restaurant-style meals in the home during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Keen to ensure they remain a trolley-must, Philip White, commercial manager at Young’s said: “We really wanted to open up the chilled market to a broader range of shoppers, some of whom may have rejected smoked fish products previously, driven by uncertainty of how to prepare them or the strong flavours associated with the ‘oily fish’ species which are traditionally smoked, such as salmon, mackerel and trout. This hot smoked alternative needs no further cooking, has a lighter smoked flavour and little to no smell.
“Investment into new product development at Young’s is a key priority for us as we continue to drive the market across chilled and frozen, and this latest launch is another great demonstration of our industry-leading innovation.”
The Ross House team said fans of sea bass have been limited to just raw formats of the fish, while many other species come in ready to eat options.
The sea bass is smoked using oak wood to give it a light, nutty flavour, while retaining the light taste of sea bass which, is proving popular with consumers.
Caroline Stanway, buyer at Waitrose, said: “Sea bass is one of the favourite fish species for our shoppers so we are really pleased to have introduced this hot smoked alternative into our stores, giving our customers a new option for summer eating.”
