Farmed cod may be reclassified as ‘white salmon’, says company

Norwegian farmed cod may be repositioned as “white salmon” if Norcod’s marketing experiment takes off. The company is relaunching its product as “Snow Cod”.

Norcod, one of the country’s largest producers, says there has been a gradual increase in average sales prices with a few fluctuations along the way.

The company said: “Commercially, Norcod has stepped up its efforts to develop the market and position our product in a premium niche category, with corresponding sales prices and contracts. This is our main task at hand going forward.

“To position our farmed at a more premium position than the wild-caught cod market level, we have launched the Snow Cod product brand in selected markets.

“We are now working with the Norwegian Seafood Council and industry players to leverage this brand position and develop a premium, differentiated brand worldwide.”

Norcod adds: “This includes repositioning farmed cod as the ‘White salmon’, as our product belongs in this product category as opposed to the wild cod product category.”

“Salmonification”, replicating the salmon story, is now the company’s game plan.

This is because Norcod is able to produce a reliable supply of high-quality, sustainable cod all year round, as a versatile product that fits well with consumer trends.

“Just like salmon, our product is versatile and fresh, perfect for grilling, baking, enjoying raw in sushi and sashimi as well as its outstanding qualities as a smoked product,” it says.

Norcod’s plan rests on three pillars:

• Repositioning, branding and increased awareness
• New products and uses, showing and leveraging the versatility of farmed cod
• Building new and existing growth markets

The company said: “Based on the above, we believe that the market conditions and fundamentals for farmed cod have never been better.”

Norcod also says that despite political and economic instability around the word, it firmly believes that the favourable market conditions provide a strong foundation in the ongoing commercialisation phase for farmed cod.

Its number one priority commercially is to achieve profitability at the current, annual production level of approximately 10,000 tonnes.