Seafood businesses hook customers with healthy eating messages
Seafood restaurants and takeaways have an exciting opportunity to attract and engage customers by highlighting the numerous health benefits of the products they serve.
That’s the message from three multi-award-winning businesses recognised for their innovative approaches to promoting the health aspects of their fish and shellfish dishes.
Towngate Fisheries in Yorkshire, Fish City in Belfast, and Something Else Fishy in Dorset have spoken to us as part of Seafood for Life to help encourage other businesses to consider how they can build health messages into their customer engagement.
Mark Drummond, Towngate Fisheries
Towngate Fisheries in Bradford won the Healthy Eating category of the National Fish & Chip Awards in 2015 and 2017, in recognition of owner Mark Drummond’s efforts to promote the message that fish and chips can be a healthy choice as part of a balanced diet.
Mark’s was one of the first fish and chip shops in the UK to have the nutritional content of the meals on its menu professionally analysed. Mark shares this information with customers through his website, offers a variety of serving sizes – including one under 500 calories – and provides a poached fish option. He regularly promotes the health benefits of fish to his shop’s 4,800 Facebook followers.
Mark said: “Fish and chips is probably the most popular seafood format for people in this country, but there’s a perception it’s unhealthy because it’s deep-fried. But it’s all about balance. You can have fish and chips as part of a healthy, and even a lower-calorie diet, if you have a smaller portion and it’s cooked properly. And of course, fish is a natural, unprocessed food that is naturally very healthy.”
Like all the businesses we spoke to, Mark is realistic about the fact that not every customer will take an interest in the calories and nutritional aspects of their food. But he believes engaging those who do can make a big difference to an independent business.
One out of 10 customers might be interested in health, but if you can get to that extra 10% of customers, that can mean the difference between a business breaking even or making a good profit.
“It can have a big effect on your turnover and your profitability. I would like to see more businesses selling what is an honest message about fish and chips as a healthy option in a balanced diet.”
John Lavery, Fish City
Belfast’s Fish City is renowned for serving traditional fish and chips alongside a wide range of additional fish and shellfish dishes. Owner John Lavery grew the menu to encourage customers to eat healthier, more nutritious food, or to at least aim for the recommended two portions of seafood a week.
The business promotes the health benefits to their customers, including through their oyster club and a free kids’ club. Over the past 10 years, an estimated 2,000 primary schoolchildren have been involved in learning more about responsibly sourced and sustainable seafood and the health benefits of eating fish. It is the first independent business in Northern Ireland to be awarded the Calorie Wise certification by the Food Standards Agency. In 2019, the restaurant won the Health & Nutrition Award at The Cateys, which have been described as the hospitality industry’s equivalent of the Oscars.
Explaining the rationale for their focus on health, John explained: “There used to be a perception that fish and chips was one of the cheapest food options, and that was the industry’s mantra. However, with pressure on fish stocks and supply affecting prices, that mantra is now obsolete. So, what can the industry shout about and promote?"
Fish is a healthy, natural protein, often with little or no processing. Government guidelines recommend a minimum of two portions per week, so I believe from a promotional point of view, this provides an opportunity we should focus on.
“Our business’ core values are quality, health, sustainability, and environment – we educate and promote those values to our customers and our staff. We train our staff, who interact a lot with customers, and share engaging information on social media. The kids’ club is a vehicle that really gives us the opportunity to educate.
"We have found that 10% of the kids that come in say they don’t like fish, and that’s probably because they don’t like the look and smell of it, rather than the taste. At the end, that figure is 1%. Education is the key.”
Nicki Else, Something Else Fishy
Nicki, who owns and runs Something Else Fishy with her husband Martyn in Dorset, describes the business as their own local ‘seafood hub’, where they source local and seasonal fish and shellfish for their door-to-door fishmonger, their two award-winning fish and chip shops, and their seafood restaurant, where Martyn is head chef.
Their business is driven by a passion for seafood and a desire to engage and build trust with their customers, and they are switched on when it comes to promoting healthy eating options.
Like Fish City, Something Else Fishy is well known locally for their work in schools, running fish masterclasses and involving older children in planning and running their own in-school restaurant evenings.
They often introduce dishes in their own restaurant featuring different species.
“I’ll introduce it on social media and we’ll do theme evenings with a taster menu,” said Nikki. “At the start of each course, I’ll introduce what our guests are having and give them information on the history, sustainability, and health aspects. We always emphasise that fish is the ultimate fast food because not only does it cook so quickly, it’s so good for you as well."
For us, it’s about showcasing the wide range of benefits of seafood and fitting a health message into that. I would encourage other businesses to do something like this because it builds loyalty from your customers – they trust you because you are knowledgeable.
Find out more
For more information about the wide-ranging health benefits of seafood visit our Seafood for Health page and or downloadable our guide for use in your own business via the links below: