enjoyfishandchips.co.uk

Contents03 Introduction

04 Key findings

06 More profitable portions

08 Giving your customers extra choice

10 Serving up the statistics

12 Methodology and contacts

02

3sizes

available

IntroductionThe future of fish and chips

This report sets out to provide the UK’s fish and chip businesses with the latest research into portion sizes, nutritional information and current customer perceptions.

We spoke to thousands of consumers, visited hundreds of fish and chip businesses and analysed dozens of food samples in the biggest ever study into the nation’s favourite takeaway.

Portion sizesFish and chip portion sizes vary hugely, and they can be a big influence on costs and profits, so we’ve assessed the size of servings across the UK to give fish and chip operators genuine insight into what is being served and how it affects the bottom line.

Greater choiceConsumers have told us they want more choice when it comes to fish and chips. Offering more options, such as a variety of portion sizes, could potentially help create a bigger customer base.

Nutritional informationThere is a growing appetite for information about the food we eat, so it’s important for fish and chip operators to be able to share that with their customers. We’ve analysed fish and chip samples cooked in different ways, to see how it affects the final nutritional value of the meal.

We aren’t here to tell you how to serve your fish and chips, but we do think the results of our research could have a very positive impact on your business.

03

We set out to discover more about the portion sizes and menu options that takeaway fish and chip businesses are serving up across the UK. Here are some of the key findings.

Key findings

A portion of peas varies from

70g to 251g(a difference of 259%)

A medium portion of chips varies from

100g to 797g(a difference of 697%)

However, the average price of a fish and chips meal only varies

by 34 per cent from region to region, suggesting fish and chip

businesses can vary their portion sizes without making proportional

changes to pricing, helping maximise profits

A medium portion of cod varies from

93g to 562g(a difference of 504%)

The most popular portion size was regular, chosen by 45 per cent of consumers, followed by medium,

chosen by 28 per cent, large, chosen by 15 per cent, and small,

chosen by 12 per cent

70g

93g 562g

251g

100g 797g

04

1.Sizematters

Our research found that more portion size options would enable consumers to create the meal that is just right for them

Increase your income33% of consumers said a greater range of portion sizes would encourage them to eat fish and chips more often

45% would order a smaller portion of

chips to cut down on calories

78 % are interested in buying fish with better nutritional content

53%would like to know the fat content of a portion of fish and chips

62%would like to see nutritional information displayed per portion size so they can make more informed choices

Did you know that using different kinds of cooking oil can affect how much unsaturated fat is in the fish and chips you serve?

2. Portionchoice is

important to customers

3. More customers are health conscious

4. They want more information

However, only

13% of fish and chip

businesses offer 3 fish portion size

options

and only

27%offer 3 chip portion size

options

36% would order smaller fish and

chips to cut down on calories

72 % would prefer their fish and chips cooked in a way that lowers the saturated fat content

05

Smaller portions, happier customers

Read more key findings from the research at www.enjoyfishandchips.co.uk

There are huge differences between the portions served up in the nation’s fish and chip shops, which can be confusing for customers. To find out more, our team of mystery shoppers visited 580 fish and chip businesses across the UK.

More profitable portionsOur mystery shoppers weighed and photographed all the elements of their takeaway meal to help us build a picture of how portions vary across the country.

The results revealed that the biggest medium portion of chips on sale was almost seven times bigger than the smallest, while the biggest medium portion of fish was just over five times bigger than the smallest.

So it’s easy to see how customers can be unsure about what they are getting when they buy takeaway fish and chips – especially when other takeaway options come in standard sizes and packaging.

06

The weight of a medium portion of cod varies from...

The weight of a medium portion of

haddock varies from

562g

623g

93g

127g

to

to

Sizes to suit all tastesOur research suggests there is an opportunity for many fish and chip businesses to adopt standard-sized portions that are a bit closer to the national average.

This will mean consumers know what they are getting when they buy a portion of fish and chips.

Making changes to your portion sizes doesn’t mean you have to make proportional changes to the prices you charge either. By introducing more portion size options, you can serve up meals to suit appetites of all sizes and at different times of the day, to boost your income.

Our research found that 15% of consumers think that chip portions are too big, and 44% of them even end up throwing some of their chips away, so making your portion sizes more predictable, and offering your customers more portion size options, could make your fish and chip business more competitive.

Maximise yourprofits

504%

697%

259%

How does your business compare to the rest of the UK?

To see how your portion sizes compare, visit

www.enjoyfish andchips.co.uk/ theperfectserve

07

variation

variation

£2.00

£0.90

£0.30

£7.00

£3.30

£1.90

Size of a medium portion of cod can vary by 504 per cent

Cheapest medium portion of fish:

Most expensive medium portion of fish:

Size of a medium portion of chips can vary by 697 per cent

Size of a portion of peas can vary by 259 per cent

Cheapest medium portion of chips:

Most expensive medium portion of chips:

Cheapest portion of mushy peas:

Most expensive portion of mushy peas:

93g

100g

70g

562g

797g

251g

Portions and prices

Prices rangefrom £2.90

– £10.30

Many consumers told us that they would be inclined to eat fish and chips more often if there was a bigger range of portion sizes and fish species to choose from on the menu, because they could then build their own ideal meal.

Small

Giving your customers extra choice

1in3 45%said a greater range of portion sizes would

encourage them to eat fish and chips more often. That's more than 17 million people across the UK

who would eat fish and chips more often.

would order a smaller portion of chips to cut their calorie intake. That's almost

23.5 million people who are concerned about their calorie intake but still want to eat chips.

Prices rangefrom £1.99

– £10.50

08

MediumPrices rangefrom £2.90

– £10.30

Size matters83% of the fish and chip consumers we surveyed said the portion of chips they buy was the ideal size – but what we don’t know is how many share their chips. This means you could potentially sell two smaller portions instead of one serving of your regular size. Offering more portion size options makes fish and chips a more versatile and flexible meal.

It means customers who are watching their calorie intake, or who fancy a lighter lunchtime option, can still enjoy fish and chips if they choose a smaller portion of chips, for example.

Regular fish and chip consumers – those who eat it more than once a month – also said that they would like a greater variety of fish species to choose from, with plaice, rock salmon and haddock at the top of their wish list.

15%

Say chip portionsare too big.

Say chip portion size is ideal because they share them. That means every fish and chip business sells an average £17,143 of shared portions every year.

Throw away some fish. That's more than 4 million people who are throwing away part of every fish and chip meal they eat.

Of people who think their fish or chip portion is too big: Most popular fish species not on

the menu that customers would like to see featured:

Pollock 8%

Cod8%

Hake8%

Haddock10%

Visit our online blog The Scoop to read some real-life fish and chips success stories

wwww.enjoyfish andchips.co.uk/ thescoop

09

21% Plaice13%

LargePrices rangefrom £3.70

– £8.20

44%

(Regional variations apply)

10

Freshly cooked fish and chips is a simple, wholesome meal using natural ingredients. When we asked consumers what would encourage them to eat more fish and chips, the top answer was if it were healthier.

Serving up the statistics

72%

78%would prefer their fish and chips cooked in a way that lowers the

saturated fat content. That's almost 37.5 million people who fish and chip

businesses could appeal to if they introduced different cooking methods

would like to see nutritional information displayed

per portion size

are interested in buying fish with better nutritional content

Consumers today are more health conscious than ever before and have a growing appetite for detailed nutritional information about the food that they eat, so we set out to test how different ingredients and cooking methods can affect the fish and chips you serve.

For example, we looked at fat content and calories.

Now, we’re sharing that information with you, so you can use it to help decide how you may want to cook the food on your menu.

By letting customers know what cooking methods you are using, you can also help to reassure them that their fish and chips are being cooked with care and with nutritional content in mind.

62%

11

Communicating with customersFish and chips can be eaten as part of a balanced lifestyle, and clearly displayed nutritional information on each menu option can help consumers make more informed choices about their meal.

We’ve created the Perfect Serve online tool to help fish and chip businesses work out how much energy, fat, carbohydrate, sugar and protein is in the fish and chips served.

It’s the kind of information that consumers are already used to seeing on food packaging.

We already know that UK consumers love fish and chips. But by offering a greater choice of standardised portion sizes, potentially adopting best-practice cooking guidelines and offering some simple nutritional information on each meal option, the public might love it even more! Frying facts

Fish chips

Medium cod. Avg price per 100g..................... £1.58

Medium chips. Avg price per 100g................... £0.40

Mushy peas. Avg price per 100g...................... £0.68

Calories 234 kcals | Kilojoules 961kJ | Fat 14g | Sat fat 1.2g Carbs 7.8g | Sugar <0.4g | Protein 17.4g

Calories 166 kcals | Kilojoules 698kJ | Fat 5.7g | Sat fat 0.4g Carbs 25g | Sugar 0.4g | Protein 2.5g

Calories 100 kcals | Kilojoules 420kJ | Fat 0.6g | Sat fat 0.1g Carbs 18.6g | Sugar 0.6g | Protein 6.3g

What’s in the fish and chips you serve?

The lowest values for energy, fat, saturates, trans-fatty acids, cholesterol and salt were achieved using these

cooking methods.

Avoid dripping Avoid double cooked chips

Cod or haddock, thin light batter, rapeseed oil, just

cooked

Maris Piper or Markies, 16 x 17mm, rapeseed oil, just

cooked

To work out the nutritional content of your fish and chips, visit: www.enjoyfish andchips.co.uk/the perfectservetool

Menu

MarisPiper Markies

All nutritional information above is per 100g, and not per serving. For further information on nutritional analysis, visit enjoyfishandchips.co.uk

MethodologySeafish and AHDB Potatoes commissioned Campden BRI, a research group serving all sectors of the food and drink industry, to produce the data that informs this report.

A ‘mystery shopper’ survey to assess the portion size of a fish and chips meal, was conducted by a team of 63 shoppers, which made test purchases at 580 fish and chips businesses across Britain between July 2015 and January, 2016.

An online consumer survey was undertaken by 1,501 people, completed by March, 2016, to determine preferences for the type and amount of information regarding nutrition and portion size available in fish and chip businesses.

The nutritional analysis of fish, chip and mushy pea samples, prepared at the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) premises in Leeds by Campden BRI staff under supervision and training by NFFF between May 2015 and October 2015.

enjoyfishandchips.co.uk

enjoyfac@seafish.co.uk

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Methodology and contacts

Copyright © 2016 Seafish and Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. All rights reserved.

Copyright in this publication belongs to Seafish and AHDB and all such copyright may not be used, sold, copied or reproduced in whole or part in any manner in any media to any person without prior consent. The material must be acknowledged as Seafish and AHDB copyright and the document title specified. Where third party material has been identified, permission from the respective copyright holder must be sought. is a registered trademark of Seafish and is a registered trademark of AHDB.