Hooking the customer

Consumers have clear expectations of seafood packaging. We are here to help retailers sell seafood successfully. Here are some tips for retailers to help seafood products fly off the shelves.

• Fresh seafood is viewed as being fresher and less processed than other categories so the key to effectively displaying seafood on the counter is to create visual cues to reinforce imagery of quayside freshness and traditional fishmongers' counters. A well stocked ice bed with clear labelling encourages consumers to stop and look at the fresh counter.

• Chilled, pre-packed seafood should be packaged so that the consumer can see the product. Again, cues on freshness, quality and origin should be used.

• Consumers are looking for very different offers when shopping for frozen seafood so the packaging requirements and cues are quite different from those for chilled pre-pack and counter:

Consumers expect to see busy and bright cardboard boxes with images of the product.

Consumers use recognisable and prominent brands as measures of quality assurance.

• Chefs or seascape imagery augments the credibility of the product as shoppers associate chef endorsed products as being more sophisticated and images of the sea reinforce the 'natural-ness' of the product.

• While bagged products are seen as being easier to store, shoppers find it harder to pick out information on bags. However, bags have the advantage of allowing consumers to see the product.

• When shopping in the ambient sector, consumers again rely heavily on brands and on pack imagery to select quality products. The functionality of the packaging is also a consideration, with portion control and ease of opening an important consideration.