Promotional activities on aquaculture
products in France
Marie Christine Monfort
Ekaterina Tribilustova
6-7 June 2013
Zadar, Croatia
Structure of the presentation
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•
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French market at a glance
Consumer tendencies
Farmed fish on the French market
Promotion of farmed fish: the French
Interprofessional Committee for Aquaculture
Products
France Seafood Production
in tonnes (source Fishstat)
Highlights of the market
• Large market (65 million inhabitants with 35 kg
per capita consumption),
• Small production of wild fish,
• Limited domestic aquaculture,
• Slow growth,
• Large diversification in terms of sold species
Highlights of the market
• Rather open to freshwater and farmed seafood,
• More sophisticated,
• More information,
Structure of the market
Imports
EUR 3.9 billion
Seafood processing industry
EUR 2.9 billion
Domestic landings
EUR 1.5 billion
Source: Monfort, M.C., 2011
Retail
EUR 5 to 7 billion
Catering
EUR 1.5 to 2.2 billion
Exports EUR 1.3 billion
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France is an important market for farmed seafood
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Source Paquotte, P. unpublished estimates (2010)
The reality of farmed fish consumption
• Main species: salmon, shrimps, mussels, oysters, scallops,
pangasius, seabass, seabream
389 000
tonnes
55%
198 000
tonnes
14%
Farmed finfish
Farmed shellfish
Consumer tendencies
• Although consumers say to prefer
wild fish, in reality they buy what is
available and consided as good
value for money
• Filleted pre-packed fish as being
considered as convenient is an
increasing choice of French
consumers
Future segmentation of the French market for seafood
City center fish mongers
selling to high income clientele
Supermarkets
Volume/price oriented
Institutional and lower class
restaurants/cafeteria
Middle-upper class restaurants
-Wild fish and high quality farmed seafood such as
“Label Rouge” labeled products
- Fresh seafood in very large proportion
- Farmed fresh fish, European origin,
- Defrosted products including fillets, non-EU origin,
-Frozen finfish, either basic range as today,
or more sales of top quality frozen fish?
Low priced frozen products
-Wild seafood dominantly but not exclusively
-Fresh finfish, mainly from European origin
Source: Egeness, F-A., Monfort, M.C., 2011
Product with potential on the French market
All seafood
Quality
Full traceability
Sustainability
Convenience
Proper handling and storing,
Risk-free item,
Reliable info all along the chain,
Quick/easy to cook,
Portion size
Wild finfish
Social fairness
Partnership along the chain
Certification: fair trade
Finfish, fresh, frozen
Convenience
Precise grading cuts
Fixed count portion, pre-packed
All farmed seafood
Environment, health,
animal welfare
Certification: organic
Crustaceans, shrimp,
crab, lobster
Convenience
Cooked and shelled
Shellfish (bivalves,
whelk, periwinkle)
Convenience
Cooked and shelled
Source: Monfort, M.C., 2011
Communication and promotion for both wild
and farmed fish
• National
- NORGE (Norway)
- Canada
- Iceland
- France (brad created in 2012)
• Regional
- Scotland
- Alaska
- Bretagne
Image of aquaculture seafood in France
•
The image of fish is positive,
•
When it comes to farmed fish, there is no consensus : Quality, some say
better taste than wild; others not; Some say fresher than wild, other not,
•
Some still don’t know about the existence of farmed fish,
•
Little awareness of farmed fish production. Some compare with on-land
production system (henns in battery cages),
•
The information conveyed to consumers is not comprehensive in terms of
origin: legislation in incomplete (in restaurants no obligation to mention
wild or farmed) and in retail shops it is not applied/ complied thoroughly
(since 2002 it is mandatory for fishmongers to mention if fish is farmed or
wild),
•
There is some confusion among French consumers about what fish is
farmed or not.
Penetration rate and average annual intake by
product in 2009
Source: Kantar for FranceAgriMer, 2010
Presentation of the French
Interprofessional (Interbranch) Committee
for Aquaculture Products (CIPA)
About CIPA
> Created in 1997
> Is composed of three colleges:
The Fish Farmers
producing fresh water
and marine fish
represented by
FFA
French Federation of
Aquaculture
420 companies
More than 560 sites
The Trout
Processors
The Feed
manufacturers
represented by
represented by
ATT
SPPA
Association of trout
processors (Association
des Transformateurs de
Truite)
Syndicat Professionnel
des Producteurs
d’Aliments aquacoles
60 trout processing units
3 companies
CIPA’s missions (1)
> Coordination role :
– Organizes the dialogue between the three ‘colleges’
– Provides reporting of the market and of the production variations
(observatoire économique)
– Provides marketing analysis tools to its members
– Helps research program implementation
> Communication role to answer the consumer’s demands
– Develops product quality specifications
– Informs the buyers and decision makers (distribution,
food industry, wholesalers, …)
– Ensures the products’ promotion to the consumers
– Maintains pro-active relationships with journalists and
other opinion leaders.
CIPA’s missions (2)
> Acts as an interface between the profession and the legislators.
> Seeks to ensure the profession’s continuing viability and its future
development
– Sustainable Aquaculture program (environment, feed,…)
– Food security
– Fish health and life cycle improvement
> Represents the profession’s position vis a vis the relevant authorities :
– National
– European
– International
Focus on Communication
Promotion main line: Quality !
19
2012 / 2013 Actions
Communication on the start-up of common production standards for trout :
- towards decision makers: distributors, wholesalers, fishmongers, chefs…
- towards consumers
- towards journalists and opinion leaders
Tasting, comparison, dialogue…
> Organization of fish-tasting lunches
- 6 meetings in 2012
- 200 participants (distributors, chefs, wholesalers, press…)
- Blind tests during the lunch and presentations
followed by a press release and a newsletter
> Partnership with associations of Chefs
- Sponsorship of cookery competitions (Ex: Gargantua)
- production site visits for chefs and culinary schools
- platform for discussions during the associations’
regional and general meetings
21
Tasting, comparison, dialogue …
> Study on trout and Sea Bass by the Centre Culinaire
Aim : to recognize the qualities and
Contemporain
culinary uses of farmed fish.
To invite the Chefs to develop culinary
tests and to develop a protocol on the
strengths and culinary uses of farmed
fish.
Presentation of this study during the
international food service trade show:
SIRHA (Lyon – France – January 2013)
Communication to the consumer…
-Partnership with supermarkets
to promote our fish during 2
weeks in February 2013
Creation of promotion tools :
-Leaflets with recipes
- web site dedicated to fish
recipes
- quiz
-…
And to the journalists…
- Monthly Press release
- Permanent press watch,
and risks and
opportunities detection
Consumer Survey
In 2013, CIPA asked M.C Monfort Consultant and Co-Spirit to lead a field
survey on farmed fish and trout in France. From January to March 2013, a
panel of 820 consumers was asked about their feeling on farmed fish, on
trout , and on the quality standard «Charte Qualité – Aquaculture de Nos
Régions ® ».
Next step : presentation of the results to the distributors and opinion leaders
in the « Newsmag » and definition of a new promotion campaign based on
these results for 2013/2014.
Some conclusions of the consumers study
87% eat fresh fish in France
Farmed fish is less attractive than wild fish.
• Taste: 54% said that farmed fish is not as good as wild fish
• Nutritional values: consumers believe that farmed fish is fatter than wild fish and
has less nutritional values
This negative image comes from the perception that :
• Feed for farmed fish is less healthy than what wild fish eats (56% respondants)
• Farmed fish grow in an environment less « natural » compared to wild fish (45%
respondants)
Despite these negative opinions, people do buy farmed fish because:
• 55% says it is less expensive/ 60% mention the price for the number one
advantage of farmed fish
• 38% says to consume farmed fish it is available and easier to find
• 21% says to buy farmed fish to preserve the marine environment (overfishing)
Reactions to the Farmed Fish Quality Charte
The association of fish farmers has taken the decision to launch a Quality Standard
to be followed by fish farmers
This initiative was well perceived by the consumers
• 90 % said this was re-assuring
• This enthousiasm was even higher with older than 50 years old people
This Quality Standard offers several advantages said consumers:
• It offers a garanty for the quality of the product
• It offers and certify the garanty of the provenance / origin of the trout
Consumers said to be especially sensitive to the following messages:
• Healthy feed for fish (important for 80% respondents)
• High freshness (important for 69% respondents)
• Solid traçability (important for 59% respondents)
Contact details
Marketing Seafood
Marie-Christine Monfort
19 rue Martel
75010 Paris
Tel: +33 (0) 1 5603 5454
Email: contact@marketing-seafood.com
Eurofish International Organisation
H.C. Andersens Blvd, 44-46
1553 Copenhagen, Denmark
Tel +45 333 777 55
Email : katia@eurofish.dk
Web site : www.eurofish.dk,
www.eurofishmagazine.com
CIPA
32 rue de Paradis – 75010 Paris
Tél +33 140 586 800
Email : contact@cipaquaculture.asso.fr
Web site : www.aquaculturedenosregions.fr
Thank you for your
attention!