Introduction
The challenges with sea lice in the salmon aquaculture industry have resulted in various amounts of measures to remove lice from the salmon in the net pens. Among the measures taken, the use of cleaner fish placed together with the salmon to eat lice from the salmon, have become an effective way to reduce the amount lice. The increased popularity of using cleanerfish (lumpfish and different wrasse species) have further resulted in a new industry, farming of cleanerfish. The production of lumpfish for this purpose has grown, significantly the last years, from just above 400 thousand fish in 2012 to nearly 36 million in 2020 (Source: Directorate of Fisheries).
A challenge with the use of lumpfish for eating lice is that they stop eating lice when they reach about 200-300 grams. The industry has however paid limited attention to the after-use of this fish, meaning that millions of fish goes to waste or in best case are used for ensilage when taken out from the salmon pens. Our aim was to find a more sustainable after-use for this resource. The most sustainable solution for the fish was in our opinion to
Our aim is to find a suitable market for human consumption of farmed lumpfish. Challenging task as introducing new products in itself is challenging, and this fish have in addition a history that may cause even more challenge. The fact that the lumpfish have been used to eat lice for salmon in early life stage can be problematic for some consumers.
Theoretical background
The current trends towards globalization and cultural diversity have led to an increased demand for non-traditional food not only in Western countries but also in homogenized Asian societies. However, people vary considerably in their willingness to try new foods, with some individuals showing great pleasure in eating new foods and others showing strong aversions to them (Ritchey et al., 2003).
Introduction of new food are in itself a challenging task, and introducing new food to a new market, may be even more challenging. Food neophobia is defined as the unwillingness or refusal to eat or the tendency to avoid new foods (Pliner and Hobden, 1992). This food neophobia results in high failure rates for innovative and novel food products (Barrena and Sanchez, 2012).
Food neophobia (FN) is generally characterized as a personality trait, a continuum along which people can be placed in terms of their tendency to accept or avoid new foods (Tuorila et al., 2001), understanding its potential impact on consumers’ food selections is an important issue for food product developers and marketers. Food neophobia can impact scores on product evaluations, particularly for novel products (Henriques, King, & Meiselman, 2009).
A systematic review of Food Neophobia studies the last 30 years (Rabadan and Bernabéu, 2021) showed that most studies were conducted in developed countries, mainly in the US and Europe. It is important to include several countries as differences have been reported between countries, such as between Koreans and American (Chung et al., 2012) and between well-educated and wealthy people from Western and emerging countries (Brunner and Nuttavuthisit, 2019). In emerging countries, this consumer segment was more conservative (more neophobic) about food, while in developed countries this segment showed lower levels of FN. According to Rabadan and Bernabéu (2021) specific attention should be paid to fast-growing countries in Asia, where society and food consumption are changing rapidly as results shows that FN in societies decreases with increased income, education, and urbanization (Koivistu and Sjöden, 1996; Meiselman et al., 2010; Predieri et al., 2020; Prescott et al., 2002; Beltrán et al., 2016; Schickenberg et al., 2008), Beyond economic development, the cultural background of a country seems crucial to explain the level of FN of its inhabitants (Rabadan and Bernabéu, 2021).
FN is interesting to investigate as it has a negative effect on the willingness to try new or unfamiliar products (Fernández-Ruiz et al., 2013) which is essential when aiming for introducing a new seafood species to a new market. Olabi et al. (2009) indicate that it would be challenging for food companies to launch foods that are ‘‘highly novel non-traditional foods’’ into markets with high food neophobia levels and to assess whether these markets would require the elements of more aggressive marketing campaigns, such as the provision of a high number of free samples and free coupons (Olabi et al., 2009).
No research found investigating neophobia of industrial buyers, important gate-keepers…
Thus, our aim is to investigate FN of industrial buyers in South Korea.
Methodological approach
A pilot study conducted in Norway testing lumpfish in different milieus revealed a more positive perception of eating the fish in different Asian milieus. Thus, we chose two different Asian countries for further investigation: South Korea and Vietnam. Lumpfish were sent from Norway to Seoul and Nah Trang and distributed to different industrial buyers (number). They were given the task to evaluate the fish and make dishes they found suitable for the fish and their cultural cuisine. The product test was followed up with in-depth interviews asking questions about their perceptions about the fish; the appearance, texture, smell, size, and taste. We also asked about their perceptions regarding the fact that the fish have been used to eat sea lice from the salmon in the aquaculture industry. The interviews were conducted via teams and…
Results
The results of the product test and interviews revealed quite negative perceptions about the fish.
Lumpfish
Not for eating. Big trend in skin care for women – so maybe processed info collagen powder or somewhat
Maybe spicy stew. Separate skin because it’s too thick.
Should be filleted because of how it looks. Used for fritter dish.
”we have many uglier fishes, but this is different from ugly – its scary”
“it wont be easy to sell”
“I felt a bit uncomfortable. Actually I was very uncomfortable. I was doubtful if I can cook it deliciously.”
“It definitely didn’t have a mouthwatering look”
It did not make a favorable impression”
“To sell the lumpfish round, honestly, the skin color is not favorable and there are too much inedible part.”
“Delivering factual info to the consumers will be keen”
“It would take time to persuade people”
“need supporting evidence that it is not harmful to eat”
The name cleaner fish itself would give some sort of repulsion to people. Korean would never eat fish with this name. That doesn’t suit Koreans’ cultural sentiments. Even I as a chef feel uncomfortable as well.
“No one knew about Pantagonian toothfish before it got popular.”
“We are continuously looking for new fish and new dish.”
The amount of seafood catch in Korea keeps decreasing, I can see an opportunity for them. It is worth to try.
Positive: “Consumers are always looking for something new”
Opposite: “ Koreans are very conservative people. They don’t like unfamiliar things. They don’t even consider at all if thing are new and not familiar. It is extremely difficult to penetrate the market with a new item”
“In China it, it seems that things sell anyway. Koreans don’t like new items. They would check through the internet first, for example lumpfish, it they look at the picture of lumpfish on the internet, they would say “Nope, no way”
“Whomever the first penguin is, he must put a tremendous effort. Otherwise, its almost impossible.”
when entering into a market with a more neophobic cultural background, marketers may focus on how their non-traditional foods can be made to be more adaptable and familiar to local markets by using well-known food ingredients and familiar spices (Choe and Cho, 2011).
References
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Beltrán, L.S., Gómez, D.M.C. and León, J.D., 2016. The Mexican consumer, reluctant or receptive to new foods?. British Food Journal.
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