(Image: JCS Fish’s redesigned BigFisk packaging. Credit: JCS Fish)[/caption] British seafood company JCS Fish redesigned the packs for its range of frozen salmon products in a way that cut plastic packaging usage by around 60%.
Based in Grimsby, family-owned JCS Fish was founded by Andrew and Louise Coulbeck in 2000 and has an annual turnover of around $10.5 million. The new packaging for their BigFish salmon fillets, breaded salmon bites, and fish cakes eliminates dual polymer plastic bags.
Instead, the company turned to cardboard packaging showing an image of founder Andrew Coulbeck holding a large salmon.
“Our aim was to cut as much plastic packaging as possible and give the brand a refresh at the same time,” said commercial manager Jack Coulbeck. “We’ve worked hard to find the most responsible supply chain for our salmon so it’s only natural that we should also want to find the most sustainable packaging solution to put it in.”
Sustainable sourcing is also a main focus for the seafood company. JCS Fish reported that they became the first brand in the UK to commit to responsibly sourced fish through the GGN aquaculture label, which indicates aquaculture products have been certified in accordance with GlobalG.A.P. standards. Certified participants in the production and supply chain have 13-digit identification numbers that anyone can trace from the GGN website.
Last December, JCS Fish became the first UK seafood company to make the source of all their fish transparent through the Ocean Disclosure Project, a voluntary disclosure seafood sourcing platform created by the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership.
“People are increasingly interested in the provenance of their food and we believe transparency is vital to ensure our customers rely on us for responsibly-sourced fish,” Jack Coulbeck said at the time. He added that the company expected to reach 100% GGN-certified salmon for its BigFish brand by mid-2020.
