N&V - From the sea to your plate
Seafood Friday is a seafood platform where we can show seafood lovers in Hong Kong the
craftsman shaft from our fishmongers and farmers in Europe in a transparent and easy way.
The world is changing in many different aspects. There has been a change in the consumers’ mindset in recent years, perhaps you have noticed it yourself too. Consumers are moving from mass production food purchase to specialised stores - thereby discovering the culinary world of fresh fish. With an average annual consumption of 71.8 kg seafood per year, Hong Kong ranks 7th in the top ten of world seafood consumption.
In Hong Kong, freshness has the top priority and live seafood is no. 1 for local consumption. However, we also see a growing demand for fresh fish and live shellfish from the Atlantic Ocean, North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Local retailers do have a small focus on frozen seafood from Europe. It is easy to handle which results in a low-cost price. However, because of the supermarket’s high rental and labour costs the final sales prices for the consumer are still high in price/quality ratio. Besides this, it is not easy for the consumer to track and trace the products they bought to eat. Where is the seafood coming from, are there any additives? How much water is added to the frozen fish fillet, and more questions.
Due to the pandemic, we have seen a quicker change in consumer behaviour as they start looking into professionalised direct-import companies to get closer to the source. An increasing number of people wants to know where their food is coming from and what happened to it before it ended up on their plate.
With our seafood platform, we make it transparent where our seafood is coming from. Where is the farm located or where are the fish caught? With a wide range of North Sea fish, we are able to trace back every fish we sell. The catch area will be visible for every customer so they know the sea where it was caught and when.
We order our seafood direct from the fishermen and seafood farmers. We have long time seafood expertise and daily contact with the fishmongers, oyster farmers and mussel men. They will be introduced on the website and social media over time. Everyone can source the farms and see where their seafood is coming from. If you are in Europe and want to visit one of our farms? We help you to discover the real world behind your oyster, mussel or fish!
Knowing your fish and fishermen is a first step for customers to understand the world behind each fish on your plate.
Food waste is the worst scenario in our business. We work with pre-orders only, so we can manage 0% food waste and 100% freshness. The fishmongers select your seafood by hand at fish auctions and fishermen. We don’t hold fresh fish stocks in Hong Kong, to keep a sustainable way of doing business and have fair prices for everyone.
By Martin Rijk, Founder at Seafood Friday www.seafoodfriday.hk