It is useful to have some background on the way in which Chinese consumers first discovered salmon, which was as sashimi – a foreign, Japanese food eaten out in restaurants.
A taste for salmon and the Norwegian appeal
Consumer marketingThis was the position of salmon before it began being incorporated more into regular meals as a treat, as something to aspire to but also something that is attainable for those in the right location and income bracket.
By being ‘other’ in its nature, salmon hasn’t needed to adapt. Instead, sashimi itself has been incorporated into the Chinese meal.
This incorporation marks one of the biggest changes in the way Chinese people consume salmon. Pre-Covid, it was largely something they looked for out of home – with lower levels of comfort around buying or preparing raw fish to eat at home.
After the pandemic enforced boom in home consumption however, sashimi has made its way into the middle-class shopping basket, with online, modern retail doing wonders to drive this trend.
NSC has taken all this and mixed it into its approach to consumer marketing in China, through a ‘clean, calm’ look that is often at odds with busier local marketing approaches.
This maintains salmon’s status as other,’ while helping it to stand out. This approach is tied to the plan to maintain salmon – and Norwegian salmon – as a product with an air of luxury.
Sashimi has made its way into the middle-class shopping basket, with online, modern retail doing wonders to drive this trend.
