French processor Escal's sales rise 8% on health trends

'Twice a week' campaign boosts the group's earnings, as does turn toward more sustainable offerings.

French health eating trend boosts Escal although France lags Germany in sustainability awareness.Foto: Escal

John Evans

French frozen seafood processor Escal said it is benefiting from the trend towards healthier eating in France.

Escal posted an 8 percent increase in revenue to €143 million ($161 million) in 2018, as French consumers turn towards healthier options encouraged by campaigns to eat seafood twice a week.

“This is favorable for us because seafood cocktails or fish fillets do not carry too many calories or fat,” Escal Marketing Manager Alexia Muller told IntraFish.

Roughly two-thirds of the company's sales come from seafood. Escal holds a strong presence in the Benelux countries, Austria and Switzerland among its 25 export markets.

In these neighboring countries, between two-thirds to three-quarters of the company’s products carry the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) seal of approval.

Targeting an expansion of business in the shrimp sector, Escal recently launched two lines of ASC-approved shrimp.

Escal says its "king size" Ecuadorian line, available in 250-gram size, is guaranteed antibiotic free at all stages of the production process.

The Alsace-based processor has also launched a smaller cocktail shrimp product available in 330-gram packs.

Awareness levels of MSC and ASC products runs to 70 percent of consumers in Germany, Mueller said.

“While its progressing in France it’s not as high as in Germany for example,” she added.

Situated near the German border, Escal is ideally placed to monitor both markets closely.

While growth in the German frozen seafood market has been running in low single digits, Mueller said the key to offering attracting consumers in European markets, particularly France, is offering healthy, sustainable products with a focus on quality.

Among its main products Escal sources shrimp for its Bio and ASC lines from Ecudaor, squid from the Indian Ocean, mussels from Chile and salmon from Norway. The company is the leader in the seafood cocktail segment by tonnage in France and Germany.