Higher incomes prompt Russian seafood boom

Reasons for increase​

Despite remaining expensive, seafood delicacies are now in the family of products that are purchased almost daily by the consumers with a high purchasing capacity. On average, they consume these products at least one to two times per week.

Consumers on lower incomes still view seafood as a holiday delicacy, buying products only once every three or four months. Yet, the seafood market is currently growing at 30-40 per cent per year.

This increase has a few reasons. First of all, it is the changing face of the consumer. There are more and more people aged 30-45 who feel less financial constraint, and this means they have started to consider a product's quality and taste over price.

Many city dwellers, even ones on lower incomes, are also spending more time and money in restaurants and cafes, where they can buy seafood.

The third reason for seafood's growing popularity is a healthy lifestyle trend, especially among the middle classes, who choose products perceived as containing health benefits that can help maintain a balanced diet.

Main players on the seafood delicacies' market​

The volume of the seafood products and seafood delicacies sector is about 3000 tons per year, and analysts believe it is far from saturated. The market for mollusks is growing particularly strongly at 28-40 per cent, and the whole Russian seafood trade, which was traditionally oriented only towards export, is now working for domestic manufacturers.

At the moment, on the Russian market there are a few brands of seafood products and the majority of them are Russian brands. First of all, this is Ledovo Group, which has well-known brands Salmon and Bon Appetit. They include peeled frozen sea delicacies (in all the segments - 30 per cent of the market) and preserved sea delicacies.

In these categories, Ledovo is a leader in Russia with 90 per cent of the market. Among other Russian brands, Severnaya companiya has an important share in the squids market (18 per cent) - a category helped significantly by beer promotions in recent years.

Big Western brands present in Russia include the Danish Nordic-Seafood and Agama. Agama and German producer Albatros are the leaders on the mussels market, with a 34 per cent and 48 per cent market share respectively.

Belgian firm Emborg is the main supplier of pickled sea cocktails and controls 40 per cent of this segment.

Package, distribution, prices​

Sea delicacies are packed in 340g, glass bottles and plastic bottles of 400, 500 and 800g. These products usually have a shelf-life of up to three months. Some products are preserved in glass jars yet this is more expensive and generally only used for premium, 'exotic' delicacies.

Naturally, the main arena for distributing seafood products is Moscow and Saint Petersburg, where the majority of consumers are concentrated. Multiple retailers, self-service stores and grocers have a wide assortment of sea delicacies, though small stores stock very little; except for dried squid, which is served with beer.

Sea delicacies are still mostly classified as premium products and the high prices are still off-putting to many Russians on lower incomes.

The average price for 1kg of peeled mussels is about RUR230 -380 ($7,6-12,6). Albatross mussels are the cheapest and this has helped them to lead the segment. For preservatives, a jar of delicacies can cost from RUR170 to 400 ($5,6-13,3), and these prices are increasing.

Information about preservatives​

Preservatives are often called 'live' seafood products because they retain their vitamins and minerals during processing with hot pickle. Preservatives are packed in hermetic package, which can be stored with the temperature 8°ñ for a period of three to four months. For priming one can use mustard, mayo, oil, vinegar sauces and primes.

Ledovo claims it has about 90-95 per cent of the Russian preservatives market - estimated at around 3000 tons per year, with a yearly increase of 18 per cent.