The Supply of Alternative Seafood Products is Growing in Europe

This June, major seafood company Thai Union launched plant-based tuna salads in the UK through its well-known brand John West, according to info from Vegconomist. Back in February of this year, the same company launched “fish-free” tuna to be sold in the Netherlands, where the market for plant-based meat continues to grow. The tuna alternative for both products is made from soy and wheat.

According to the company’s official press release, the launch back in February represented a response to increasing demand for “flexitarian” diets. Thus, the company is adding more variety into the market: “alternative” seafood in addition to regular seafood.

The launch in the UK this June follows up with the previous announcement that there were going to be more “alt-protein” product releases by the company this 2023.

In late May, sushi and Asian snacks German-based company Eat Happy, with over 3,000 locations in Europe, announced a trial launch of plant-based salmon and tuna products in Austria, aiming for national expansion.

Meanwhile, German-based FRoSTA launched frozen vegan fish finger sticks in February.

Europe is a promising region for alt-protein products’ growth.

It’s worth noting that the same press release regarding the Netherlands launch cited research from Innova Market Insights that found that 42% of people in the Netherlands are “flexitarians.” The flexitarian diet refers to only occasionally eating regular meat or seafood.

Earlier in 2023, the Belgian Association for Research and Expertise for Consumer Organizations released a report about meat perception among the Belgians, which revealed that 31% of them are flexitarians and 11% of them are non-meat eaters. The same report indicated that non-meat eaters' percentages were higher in the capital and among people younger than 25 years old.

Meanwhile, as we reported in a past Tridge Analysis, the number of “flexitarians” represents more than half of the German population, according to a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report released this January.

While still small, the alt-seafood market is growing.

In its 2021 Alternative Seafood Industry Update, the Good Food Institute (GFI) indicated that total investments in alternative seafood companies during 2021 rose by 92% YoY to USD 175 million in 2021.

In the US alone, plant-based seafood retail sales climbed 15% YoY to USD 13.9 million. The quantity of available products was also increasing, according to the report. Three-quarters of this market is composed of plant-based fish and the rest by plant-based shellfish such as alternative scallops, shrimps, or crabs.

GFI's report indicated that Europe had the highest quantity of alt-seafood companies in the world, followed closely by North America, and then by APAC.

GFI data also indicated that the alt-seafood market, within the alt-protein market as a whole, is still small, representing roughly 1% of the total (plant-based meat + seafood). Nonetheless, since regular seafood represents 20% of the total meat and seafood market, this signifies that alt-seafood has ample room to grow. The potential growth estimate was $220 million, according to the report, if the alt-seafood share within the total seafood market were to grow as large as the alt-meat share within the total meat market.

Price is a major variable for alt-seafood to fulfill its growth potential.

According to GFI’s 2022 state of the industry report, plant-based products remain at a price premium compared to conventional protein. This was evident in a YoY decline in volume sold in most categories, and for plant-based meat in particular, in which alt-seafood was included, the decline was large enough to also cause a YoY decline in total value.

This assessment aligns with Tridge’s own analysis regarding conventional protein as well. Beef and seafood products showed in 2022 that demand was elastic, as consumption began falling when prices reached or neared record highs for many products.

If, according to GFI, plant-based meat has an average 67% premium over conventional alternatives, leaving everything else constant, the effect should be greater.

In the meantime, the plant-based tuna salad recently launched in the UK was priced at GBP 2.50 per 220g pack (GBP 1.14/100 g.), while comparable products of the same brand made of conventional tuna were priced at GBP 2.69 per 220g pack (GBP 1.20/100 g.) and GBP 1.75 per 220g pack (GBP 79.5/100 g). This would leave an average premium for the plant-based product of 13%. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that the price for the plant-based product was a bit smaller than the “premium” conventional product.