Alt-Seafood Splash #2: Consumers' Sound Bites

Japanese consumers not hooked by the idea just yet but curious to nibble.

June 07, 2022

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Happy Tuesday Market Shakers. Today we’re diving headfirst into what real Japanese consumers think about alternative fish.

First, let’s weigh anchor for a second and explore Japan’s appetite for regular seafood. Assuming they follow the trend of alt-meat in seeking to imitate real meat, alt-seafood products can potentially catch a portion of the seafood market.

Consumption of seafood in Japan is declining. In 2001 the country consumed 8.5 million tons of fish, down to 5.69 million tons in 2018. Younger generations in particular are cutting back on fish, eating less than a third of the amount consumed by over-60s. At the same time, people have been eating more meat, which is considered the main reason for the decline in seafood consumption. 

The tides turned for seafood in 2020 however, when COVID-19 lockdowns forced people to stay at home and do more of their own cooking, leading to demand rising for the first time in 14 years. Also, despite a waxing and waning appetite, Japan is still the fifth largest consumer of seafood globally.

Consumer research shows that, in general, the Japanese eat seafood because it “tastes good”, seems “healthy”, and ”doesn’t contain additives” in its unprocessed form. Growing demand for easy-to-prep meals in Japan is turning people off seafood which is considered tricky to prepare due to the bones and skin. But, because seafood is a traditional part of the Japanese diet and is considered healthy, consumers are unlikely to replace it with alt-fish. It’s more likely that they would incorporate it into a diet containing regular seafood, as an easy to prepare option. 

We gain some hints for the type of products that faux-fish makers could focus on in Japan from a consumer survey conducted by MyVoice in 2021. They asked 10,000 Japanese consumers how they liked to eat their fish. 80% replied that sashimi and sushi are their favourite ways to eat seafood. Close to 60% of respondents said they enjoy both tempura and breadcrumb fried seafood products. Given the difficulty of replicating raw fish’s texture, tempura and breadcrumb-coated products present an early opportunity for alt-seafood makers in Japan.

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Awareness about sustainable seafood

Awareness of unsustainable fishing practices amongst Japanese consumers is low compared to other regions such as the US. However, this is changing recently, especially amongst younger generations.

A survey conducted by the Marine Stewardship Council in 2020 found that 30% of Japanese consumers surveyed were willing to switch to purchasing products that help protect the marine environment and conserve its resources. In Japan, those aged 18 - 24 showed more willingness than other generations to change their purchasing behaviour. One in three of this generation has already taken action towards protecting marine resources in the past year. Gen-Z especially may find alt-seafood options appealing from a sustainability standpoint.

Market data for alternative seafood is lacking

Globally, there is a lack of data about consumer attitudes to alternative seafood. Only two large consumer surveys have been conducted so far, one by the vegan product review website Abillion and one by the Good Food Institute. The former analyzed 800,000 plus alt-seafood product reviews, finding that consumers care most about taste and texture. Products that align with local tastes, such as noodle dishes in Asia, are also preferred. The latter surveyed 2,500 US consumers, finding that messaging about taste was a key driver for consumers to try alt-fish. Tastewise’s report on the US market shows consumers’ interest in alt-fish is growing year on year, driven by health interest.

We found no dedicated consumer attitude research in Japan about alternative seafood. A lack of market research signals the category is still minor. 

Online, google keyword searches and SNS search volumes for alt and plant-based seafood are also very low in Japanese. 

The media in Japan has featured alt-seafood products in the past. Beauty and fashion magazine Gianna and food magazine Komachi have featured Azumarche’s plant-based sashimi in 2022. Recipe website Kurashiru promoted a sashimi rice bowl made with Azumarche’s products. Consumer reviews agree that when combined with soy sauce and wasabi, the product tastes similar to regular seafood. Japan’s æ—„ăƒ†ăƒ« (Nichi Teru) TV channel has also introduced several brands of alt-seafood from Japan and also overseas. The features focus on sustainability; these products help to conserve declining numbers of real fish and contribute to SDG Goal 14 (Life Below Water).

As we introduced last week, there are a small number of plant-based seafood products available on the Japanese market. Consumer review data for two of these, Azumarche’s plant-based sashimi and NEXT MEATs NEXT Tuna, offers some insights into consumer attitudes to alternative seafood. 

Several consumers who bought Azumarche’s plant-based salmon, tuna and squid sashimi like the product's “lack of fishy odour”. Other positive comments focus on “low calorie”, “easy to prepare”, and “suitable for people who can’t eat protein”. Reviewers appreciate the marude sakana, â€œlike fish”, branding because it clearly emphasises the product is similar to, but not replicating, fish. For this reason, the lack of fish-like texture and taste can be accepted.

Reviews for NEXT Tuna find consensus that the product lacks the texture and taste of fish. At „390 per can, the product is viewed as “too expensive”. Reviewers said they would like to purchase it again if it was more affordable.

Consumers’ Soundbites

Without further ado let’s hear insights from real Japanese consumers about their attitudes to alt-seafood.

Summary

The consumers we interviewed didn’t know about alt-seafood products. After we explained, most were keen to try them - out of curiosity mainly, but almost no one would substitute faux-fish for the real thing. Taste and texture would have to be authentic for consumers to try the products again. Of several example product images we showed, our interviewees were positive about plant-based salmon fillets, followed by canned alt-tuna. Cultured seafood was marmite for our consumers: half were intrigued, half felt it “unnatural”. Conversely, fermentation-based seafood was said to sound “healthy”. Some of our interviewees were interested in boneless, odourless alt-seafood as a product that could be easy to eat for their kids. As ever, consumers were price sensitive, but younger consumers were willing to pay a little more than regular seafood prices.

Interviews

We used examples of products such as plant-based salmon fillet, canned alt-tuna, konjac “fish-fry”, and cultured shrimp dumplings to introduce different types of alt-seafood to interviewees and get their impressions.

Motoko, Female, 60s, Married

Motoko lives with her husband in Tokyo. Both are retired. She has not heard of alternative meat or fish products before and was not convinced by them.

I cook and consume seafood almost daily. I think it’s delicious and healthy so I cannot see the need for a product that would replicate it. I suppose that frozen food products like plant-based fish fry would appeal to families with young children. I’m a little curious about the fermentation-based products you mentioned. I would try them, but for me, I prefer real fish.

Kazuya, Male, 60s, Married

Kazuya is originally from Osaka but currently works in Tokyo with his wife and two daughters. For health reasons, he limits protein intake.

I really used to love eating meat and fish, but I can’t consume so much nowadays. Alternative fish products interest me for this reason. Especially the plant-based products, like canned tuna. I imagine it to be healthy. I think I’d like to try these products myself at home.

The product made from cells makes me uneasy. It doesn’t sound natural, to be honest.

Kazuya expected alt-products to be priced the same as real fish products.

Yoko, Female, 50s, Married

Yoko is a businesswoman living in Tokyo. She has heard of plant-based products before on TV. She was intrigued when we told her about alternative seafood.

I’d like to try alternative seafood because I’m curious about whether they taste like actual seafood products. I think the fermentation-based products are appealing to me because fermentation makes me think of healthy products like miso or natto.

If they were safe and I had the opportunity to try them, I would try cell-cultured products, once I think. It seems like an unnatural product though.

We asked what it would take Yoko to purchase or eat alt-fish regularly.

I like seafood, so I don’t think I would buy alternative products regularly unless the price was considerably lower than regular seafood. If I have young kids, who sometimes don’t like the taste or smell of fish, I might be more inclined to buy plant-based or fermentation-based fish.

Hiro, Male, 40s, Single

Hiro is a chef working in Tokyo. He cooks dishes with meat and fish in his restaurant. He had not heard the term alternative protein but was familiar with soy meat.

I am not interested in alternative fish products. I can’t imagine that they can imitate the taste and texture of actual fish which is a food I love to cook and enjoy.

Hiro said he had seen news stories about depleting fish stocks. This worried him but he felt sustainable fisheries were the optimal solution. He did say that as long as cell-cultured fish was certified to be safe, he would be interested in using it to cook.  

We showed Hiro several alternative seafood products from overseas:

The plant-based salmon fillet looks realistic. Of all the products I would probably try the canned tuna (plant-based). This is the one I can imagine being the most authentic. I think these kinds of products should be priced less than fresh fish if you want people to buy them.

Sakura, Female, 40s, Single

Sakura lives in Toyko and works in IT. She is a pescatarian and was very interested in trying alternative seafood.

I often eat plant-based meats, like soy mince and vegetable burgers. But there aren’t many alt-seafood options in Japan, so I’d be really interested to try them. Fermentation-based products sound most appealing to me. I associate fermentation with healthiness.

We showed Sakura several alternative seafood products, including plant-based canned tuna, salmon fillet, and shrimp.

The salmon looks really good. I’m curious how the texture and flavour is!! I don’t really like tinned products because I imagine them containing a lot of additives. I also don’t like the taste of shrimp so I wouldn’t want to try plant-based or cell-based versions. 

For Sakura, the taste and texture of the product were most important for whether she’d buy alt-seafood, followed by nutritional content. Additives and processing were a big no. Sakura felt 100 yen more than fresh seafood would be an acceptable price.

Haruka, Female, 30s, Married

Haruka is an office worker from Tokyo. She had never heard of alt-seafood but had heard about “vegan” meats.

It depedns on the situation. Normally I would not be intersted by alternative fish products. If you offered it to me though, maybe I would try it. Sushi is my favorite food though, so I wouldn’t consider replacing fish.

Haruka was impressed by the product examples that we showed her, but not enough to go beyond trying them out of curiosity.

The products look quite like the real thing! I would try the cell-cultured dumplings because they look like normal dumplings which makes me think they would taste the same. The plant-based salmon and tuna look good, but I think they won’t taste like the real thing. I would try them once maybe. Low price of the product and knowing it tastes good is my priority.

Yuya, Male, 30s, Married

Yuya works in Tokyo where he lives with his wife and young daughter. He has heard of alternative protein and had tried a plant-based burger with his wife. He wasn’t at all aware of alternative seafood products.

I would be interested in trying alternative seafood products because the concept is interesting and I wonder how they taste. Especially fermented products. Also, if these products didn’t contain bones and didn’t have a strong odor, I’d like to try them with my daughter. We avoid giving her much fish for these reasons.

After seeing several products from overseas, Yuya responded positively to a fermentation-based salmon fillet from Plantish.

The salmon fillet looks very real. It makes me want to try it because it looks like it would taste just like salmon, which is a fish I love.

Riku, Male, 20s, Single

Riku is a vegan and is familiar with a variety of alternative protein products.

I have heard of alternative seafood and tried some myself. I’m most interested in plant-based products. I tried a plant-based tuna product before which I would eat again.

As a vegan, I would not normally eat the cell-based products because, even though fish wouldn’t be killed to make the product, it’s still an “animal product” so to speak. Though I would be interested to try it at least once.

We showed Riku several products including a plant-based salmon fillet, canned tuna and cultured shrimp dumplings.

I am most interested in the tuna and I want to try it. Though the salmon looks really authentic so I’m curious. I wouldn’t eat the cell-cultured shrimp product.

Riku said he would pay a higher price for sustainable alternative products, up to 20% compared to regular products.

Ken, Male, 20s, Single

Ken lives in Tokyo with his family. He enjoys eating seafood as part of a healthy lifestyle. While he had not tried any types of alternative protein products before, he was interested in alternative seafood.

I’d be interested in trying alternative seafood that looked similar to the real thing and tasted good.

Ken was most interested in cell-based and plant-based products because the ingredients seem natural. We showed Ken examples of several alternative seafoods, including Plantish’s whole cut salmon, plant-based smoked salmon, plant-based sashimi and plant-based fish fingers.

The most appealing product is the salmon fillet. It looks very realistic and makes me hungry to try it. Though, if it didn’t have the same taste and texture as a real salmon, I think I’d feel surprised and put off. The fish fingers are also appealing to me. I think these kinds of fried products are easy to replicate and can be covered in sauces to improve flavour. Even real fried fish products don’t taste so much like fish.

Ken was sympathetic to the sustainability of alternative seafood and said he would be willing to pay up to 30% more for a product if had clear messaging about sustainability. He emphasised that this is assuming the safety and taste of the product are assured.

Ryusuke, Male, 20s, Married

Ryusuke lives in Kyushu with his wife where he works in sales. He is a big seafood lover. He was aware of alternative proteins like soy meat, having experimented with reducing meat consumption before.

I’m curious about trying the 3 main types of alternative seafood. I think it will be very hard to replicate the taste and texture though. In Japan we eat so many varieties of seafood, and texture differs. I don’t think I would choose these products in a restaurant if there were regular fish options either. But at a sushi train, I would try alternative sushi. The reason is that variety is part of the sushi-train experience, and the environment would make me open to trying new and unusual products as part of my meal. 

We showed Ryusuke several photos of alt-fish products and asked him to share his impression.

The plant-based salmon fillet looks realistic and appetizing. I associate cell-cultured products with genetically modified products, which have a bad image for my generation. I’d try plant-based tuna because I could mix it with mayonnaise or something, and I’d be interested in the flavour. I don’t think I would choose to buy any of these products in the supermarket though when I can eat regular fish which is healthy already. Generally, I would expect alternative seafood to be cheaper than regular seafood.

Key Takeaways

We found the consumers we interviewed to be curious about alt-seafoods, but not enough to substitute them for fresh fish. There was an expectation for seafood analogues to have spot-on taste and texture. The tech to make authentic raw and whole cut fish alternatives isn’t there yet though. Instead, players could follow trends from overseas and start with processed, potentially easier to replicate alt-fish, like canned or breaded products, to begin developing a market in Japan. Targeting consumers who can’t eat seafood, such as vegans, pregnant women and people with health issues, is also a good strategy. As Japanese consumers are highly aware of seafood’s health benefits, health claims about alternatives will need to be specific and well-backed up.

That’s all folks

We hope you enjoyed today’s article. Let us know what else you’d like to hear from consumers in the future!

We’ll be back next week to take a tour of the alt-seafood products on store shelves. See you next Tuesday.

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