Mowi France is pioneering a line of salmon products as part of a drive to develop the value-added market and expand brand recognition in a nation where farmed salmon sales have suffered from negative publicity over recent years.

The French arm of the Norwegian salmon giant is launching 19 products in 2021 targeted at women, who continue to be the primary purchaser within the country's households.

"This is a year focused on innovation to satisfy the strong demand of consumers who have rediscovered the pleasure of cooking during lockdown," Mowi France Marketing Manager Gabriel Chabert told IntraFish.

The Mowi brand was launched in France at the beginning of 2020 with the aim of restoring public confidence in farmed salmon, only to run straight into the global coronavirus pandemic.

The company, which employs around 800 people in France, was searching for brand recognition and to widen its network of distributors before COVID lockdowns took effect.

Sales of prepacked fish in France saw an incredible year in 2020, with the public stuck at home. In addition, fresh counters saw a decline in business with consumers reluctant to handle products touched by others in the COVID-19 era.

"We saw the market for prepacked salmon products increase more than 30 percent last year," Chabert said.

French consumers purchased around 56,000 metric tons of fresh salmon in 2020, in addition to 16,700 metric tons of smoked products. Sales of prepacked salmon and salmon sold on fresh counters increased 16 percent while smoked salmon sales staged a comeback, rising 7 percent.

The last year has seen a stark contrast in retail and foodservice sales, with many restaurants closed amid lockdown restrictions as countries around the world try to negotiate multiple waves of the deadly coronavirus.

Mowi's fresh salmon products are processed at its Boulogne-sur-Mer plant in northern France, while smoked products are being handled at its temporary plant at Lampaul-Guimiliau in the northwestern Brittany region. The company's Landivisiau site in the same region is being rebuilt after the original former Kritsen site burned down in 2018.

Farmed and smoked salmon sales have suffered in France in recent years because of negative publicity linked to farming methods. One of the most recent episodes centered on the amount of hydrocarbons and sodium levels contained in smoked salmon products.

Faced with growing competition from trout, smoked salmon suppliers in France have been stepping up their efforts to ensure the sustainability and quality of their products and availability of supply.

The trend does not extend to Mowi, however, which is keeping its focus firmly on salmon.

In the fight against negative publicity, supermarket chains have launched their own quality marks and initiatives for farmed salmon aimed at restoring public faith.

Meanwhile, it has been a struggle for distributors with listings containing Scottish salmon because of Brexit related disruption delaying and even halting deliveries meaning gaps have appeared on French supermarket shelves.

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Mowi France prepares new product blitz as salmon sales surge