Young’s Seafood, the UK's largest seafood processor, is looking to expand its range of pollock products following its recent funding deal with the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP).

In May, GAPP announced it was awarding nearly $1 million in funding to four partners in Europe -- Young’s Seafood, Nomad Foods (the owner of the Birds Eye and Iglo brands), Angulas Aguinaga and Trident Seafoods-owned Pickenpack Seafoods -- who are all launching new products made with Alaska pollock.

In the United Kingdom, Young’s Seafood launched its new “Chip Shop Quarter Pounder” with Alaska pollock last summer, introducing the species to a new generation of consumers.

Partnership dollars from GAPP will be used to market and promote the new products and to build awareness of the species.

“The challenge we have is to encourage consumers to consider changing from the norm – cod and haddock – and try something new,” Jason Manley, marketing director at Young’s, told IntraFish.

'The best-selling fish burger in the UK'

The Young’s Chip Shop Quarter Pounder is the company’s first 100 percent wild, Alaskan pollock product to be supported by GAPP.

The product is currently available at Asda, Tesco and Iceland, with further retailers to follow.

“How well the product delivers, in terms of the success it has at integrating into the lives and repertoires of consumers, will be a measure of how well pollock fits into people’s lives,” said Manley.

“So far, so good, and if you look at the latest data it is now the best-selling fish burger in the UK.”

The product has also had a good response from retailers, with several other large multiples also interested in stocking the burgers, according to Manley.

Adjusting products to the new normal

Young’s is specifically targeting “younger adults” and those new to the category with the new pollock products, while taking into account what the “new normal” will look like for seafood shoppers.

“It is all about unmet needs,” Manley said. “Where are those needs? They are starting to evolve, buying habits are changing, and consumption habits are changing. We must consider what the new normal will look like and create new products to meet the new needs.”

For example, in the United Kingdom teenagers and younger adults tend to start of with fish fingers and progress to fish fillets but there is a gap in the middle, said Manley.

In addition there is a big trend at the moment among this demographic towards reducing meat consumption, and the new product "fills this gap," he said.

The coronavirus has made new product development challenging for the group but, Manley said, with the support of GAPP the range will be developed further in time.