The UK market for surimi seafood is heating up and the timing couldn’t be better for European surimi seafood giant Viciunai.

Earlier this year, the company set up a new subsidiary in the United Kingdom -- Viciunai UK & Ireland -- and the transition is proving positive, Viciunai UK Managing Director Paul Agnew told IntraFish. “We are seeing steady growth on all fronts."

This growth includes the company’s flagship product, surimi seafood.

There is a “good and steady demand for surimi in the UK,” he said, because consumers are starting to view surimi as a healthy food option.

“We’ve altered the specifications slightly, increasing the surimi content, using MSC-certified fish, getting rid of additives and preservatives – aspects which consumers are asking for,” said Agnew. “And it’s paying off – ultimately, it’s a healthy product and consumers are buying more.”

And the numbers back up his claim.

According to the latest figures from market research company Nielsen, sales of surimi crab sticks at UK retail outlets through Oct. 6 increased 6.3 percent year-on-year to £26.9 million (€30.2 million/$34.4 million). The volume of crab sticks sold increased 10.8 percent to 5,897 metric tons during the period. Unit sales stood at around 24.8 million, up 9.4 percent over last year.

Part of the rise may have come from the lower cost. Over the same period, prices for crab sticks were down 4 percent per kilo to £4.56 (€5.10/$5.80), with the price per unit down 2.8 percent to £1.80 (€2/$2.30).

UK shoppers are savvy and driven by quality and are picking up on the positive product changes, Agnew said. “They get the message and voted with their feet.”

He declined to disclose how much surimi Viciunai is currently selling in the UK market, but did say the company is having a successful year and is “gearing up and poised for another good year ahead.”

When the UK subsidiary was established in January, Agnew said it would give the Lithuanian surimi producer huge opportunities for growth in the market. “When it comes to innovation and new product development (NPD) we, as a business, are probably still five years ahead of the UK market, and for us the challenge is to take the UK market on a journey,” he said at the time.

While the group’s core product will always be surimi, the company offers a whole range of products, and one “massive area for growth” for the UK division will be with its gyoza products -- which although not a traditional seafood item, have a great future in the UK market, Agnew said.

Sales of Viciunai products almost doubled in the last three years through deliveries to networks such as Aldi, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Dunnes, Waitrose, and totaled €16.5 million ($18.7 million) in 2017.

Viciunai as a group operates globally, and historically the UK sales office has been an offshoot of Viciunai Europe in Belgium.