Aeon, Lerøy, NSC partner on high-end mackerel, skrei offerings in Japan

Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) Director for Japan and South Korea Johan Kvalheim talked to SeafoodSource about two campaigns for airflown fish he has been involved in since he took up the post in December of 2020. For airflown mackerel, the NSC worked with the Tokyo-based importer, JALUX, in a campaign called “Mackerel Nouveau,” a play on the fresh Beaujolais Nouveau wine so popular in Japan. Additionally, the Aeon supermarket chain will be selling airflown skrei (Norwegian Arctic cod) this year at 60 of its 350 locations across Japan from 20 January. Depending on sales trends, the Chiba-based chain plans to import 15 to 20 metric tons in the first year. Kvalheim worked with the Norwegian Embassy and the Bergen-based supplier, Lerøy Seafood, to set up the deal.

SeafoodSource: What is Saba Nouveau, and what is the campaign surrounding it about?

Kvalheim: This is the fresh mackerel that we introduced to Japan in 2021. Saba Nouveau is the brand. That is owned by JALUX. When we talk about it in general, it’s about the fresh mackerel from Norway – airfreighted fresh mackerel. That’s joint marketing that we did together with JALUX in 2021, we had the first mackerel arriving. And then we had it again last year in September and we had the second launch of Saba Nouveau.

This is fresh mackerel, and by far – 99 point something percent – of all the mackerel going into Japan is frozen. So this is a little niche – a good story.

It’s not invented by the Norwegians. It’s actually invented by the Japanese inspectors that go to Norway to inspect the mackerel. All the mackerel that is shipped from Norway to Japan is inspected by Japanese inspectors on site in Norway. I think there are around 20 to 30 Japanese inspectors in Norway every season. So they inspect all the mackerel and quality approve it before it is frozen and shipped to Japan. They work for the buyers – for the different importers – and they travel around, depending on the exporters they are working with, and they inspect the mackerel at the different sites.

So they are the ones that go every year, and have been doing that, probably since the beginning. And one of these guys, he was looking at it fresh and he said, “Why don’t they sell it as fresh?”

And then the Norwegian’s said, “No, that’s going to be too expensive, because you have airfreight instead of cargo freight.” But the concept was that this is available only for a limited time. The fresh mackerel caught in the prime season is only available for a month or two months and then it’s gone.

SeafoodSource: What market segment is the target of the airflown mackerel?

Kvalheim: They are going into the high-end retailers. You have a different product for a limited time and you charge a higher price to cover the cost of freight. So it is a higher priced product, but that’s what we’re seeing in mackerel in Japan. Mackerel is seen as reasonably priced, especially now, when everything’s getting expensive. Mackerel has a very favorable price, but at the same time there is a market for someone who wants to have an upscale mackerel product. And that is the niche that the Saba Nouveau, the fresh mackerel from Norway, is coming into.

And we see it also in the canned products. You have regular canned mackerel products, and you have high-end canned products. If you have more money, you’re willing to pay a higher price for a product and better story, then you pay it.

SeafoodSource: What was the NSC’s role in setting up the skrei sale and promotion?

Kvalheim: Aeon was in contact with us when I came in 2021, and they were looking for new species or new stories from Norway ...

Photo courtesy of Johan Kvalheim/Twitter