A LEADING figure from British high street institution Marks and Spencer has underlined the challenge faced by the seafood industry over integrity in an ever-more connected world.
Speaking at the Humber Seafood Summit, taking place in Grimsby today, Hannah Macintyre, fisheries and aquaculture manager for the £9.5-billion retailer, told how pushing sustainability on the packaging was not enough to win over sensationalised scare stories from the national media.
With nearly every single literate adult expected to own a smartphone by 2017, "the ability to challenge claims on seafood packaging is incredible", she said, adding that misrepresentations in the national media and scandals such as the horsemeat crisis had made food provenance a hot topic.
"The potential to enhance a reputation is huge, but the potential to damage reputation is also massive. Anyone minded to do so can start a campaign and we have a real job to do to make sure these campaigns are not about seafood integrity, or the lack of.
"We need to engage with consumers in the right way, we need to make the most of social media, of Facebook and Twitter, shout about positive initiatives that are going on and instil trust in our customers.
"We need to build relationships in both directions in the supply chain and understand the challenges faced on a daily basis. As an industry we need to be leading the way in integrity and make sure this time next year we are not going through our own horsemeat scandal and ensure the next generation of seafood lovers."
Coldwater is a key supplier to Marks and Spencer, and the 700 stores significantly over trade in the seafood sector, with a 14 per cent market share compared to 3.5 per cent across food as a whole.
"That really highlights the trust our customers have in the brand name," she said. "We are a real destination shop when it comes to seafood products." Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
