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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.