Time to Take a Fresh Look at Frozen

Often perceived as an inferior choice, frozen has been the underdog of pandemic retail sales, and frozen seafood has enjoyed a well-earned piece of this pie.

According to Seafish’ latest data insights, frozen has comfortably sat in the top three super-category growth spots, closely behind ambient and beers/wines/spirits. For seafood specifically, pre-lockdown stockpiling drove frozen seafood volume up considerably, with week ending 21.03.20 seeing sales up 80% as shoppers prioritised freezer staples in this period of panic and uncertainty. As a result, frozen seafood consumption outstripped chilled for the first time since 2005. Sales also continued to build year-on-year during the lockdown period and up to the now Stay Alert phase. Social class C1 and 2+ member households have been characterised as the key growth areas for the category.

Growth has been recorded for frozen seafood as a category across all retailers except for Co-op. Aldi, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Waitrose and M&S grew their share of frozen seafood sales.

Seafish detail that purchase frequency, trip volume and penetration were the key growth drivers alongside an increase in the average spend per pack in the frozen seafood category (shoppers are either trading up or paying full prices due to fewer promotions). The result is that more shoppers are buying more frozen seafood, and more often.

The challenge – and opportunity – is to retain this increased customer base in the frozen seafood category and captivate their enthusiasm for frozen products. Together as an industry, how do we support the category in continuing to drive growth and retain these new shoppers as the heavy clouds of lockdown continue to lift and uncertainty and financial pressure becomes the new normal?