As the only marine nation in our country, the once-king lived this kind of life. If one day ocean food dominates your dietary life, have you ever wondered what form of ocean food you will eat?
A report on sustainable food production published in 2020 in the British journal Nature suggests that annual global production of sea food may increase to 21 million tons by 2050, or even to 44 million tons, which would account for 12 to 25 percent of the total increase in meat needed by the 9.8 billion people of the mid-21st century.
Meanwhile, a new trend is emerging: oceanism, in which people follow a vegan diet but include sustainably sourced seafood for healthy extra protein and occasional meat.
The prevalence of oceanism has also led to further growth in the seafood industry. The seafood industry's current profitability, in addition to relying on sales from restaurants and food organizations, has developed a diverse range of forms of processing marine organisms into packaged foods in many countries where marine food development is well developed. Especially in Japan, the United States and other countries rich in marine resources, a variety of marine food products are endless.
Also as a large marine country, China's deep processing of marine food development process is very slow, weak sense of innovation, product form of obsolete. China has been eating seafood since ancient times, but why is the development of marine food relatively lagging behind? With the adjustment of food supply and demand and dietary structure, everything is available, but "a hundred things to be done" under the sea granary can develop what emerging play?
From "can't afford to eat" to "eat all the time", the transformation of seafood
The history of seafood
The history of eating seafood can be traced back to more than five thousand years ago. Ancient seafood foods such as fish, snails and clams were recorded in the Zhou Rituals - Heavenly Officials for use as sacrificial offerings for the Zhou Son of Heaven, or for use in the court of the Zhou Dynasty. However, at that time, seafood could not be popularized among the people due to logistical and geographical constraints, and was often used as a symbol of luxury food.
Later, the development of transportation and storage conditions improved the supply of seafood to some extent. However, the demand for seafood products is greatly influenced by seasonality, festivals and peak tourist seasons. This, coupled with unequal market information and relatively fixed breeding varieties and breeding patterns, has led to a contradiction between market supply and demand, triggering fluctuations in end-product prices.
At the same time, China's marine fishery enterprise investment is relatively decentralized, the fishing vessel tonnage is small; the lack of large-scale integrated marine fishery enterprises and ocean fishing vessels, the poor self-sustainability at sea, the sea self-supply system is not sound; China's marine ecological environment management and the order of the exclusive economic zone management have to be improved.
In the mid-to-late 20th century, some coastal brands either grasped the cultivation method of seafood production and breeding, or mastered the process of seafood freshness and quality, thus seizing the key opportunity of seafood development and rising rapidly.
Seer Island introduced high-quality seedlings from Japan, "bottom-seeded" breeding, from the initial fishing industry to rule the world, into fishing, aquaculture, processing, and become a veritable seabed bank. Shangpintang adopts 70℃ low-temperature ripening process to lock more than 90% of the nutrients of live sea cucumber, innovating the category of fresh sea cucumber, which has been featured in CCTV's "Approaching Science" program.
With the development of China's economy and the improvement of the living standard of the residents, the development of big logistics and big consumption has broken the restriction of "rich and poor" in the consumption of seafood in the region, and the consumers are no longer satisfied with the seafood dishes on the table, but are in pursuit of a more diversified and personalized consumption scenario. The original wholesale and retail into the thousands of households pure supply model has been unable to meet the needs.
This also means that the technical barriers of only being able to control seafood quality are far from enough. In order to meet market demand, the seafood will be deep processing, improve the added value of seafood products, according to the needs of consumers to adjust the upgrade is imperative.
Feeding the world with blue food
Research shows that increasing blue food production is expected to increase food consumption and improve diets. Blue food in this context refers to plants, animals and algae in freshwater and marine environments.
Scientists have found that a portion of species of aquatic products are more nutritious than beef, lamb, chicken, and pork in terms of average values of various nutrients (omega-3, vitamins A and B12, calcium, iodine, iron, and zinc).
The paper is included in the Blue Foods Collection, which brings together research published in Nature and its subseries to illuminate the contributions and challenges of aquatic foods to the future food system.
Research has shown that aquatic products have the potential to improve human nutrition and the sustainability of food production, but are often underrepresented in nutritional and environmental assessments of food systems. Another Blue Food Assessment examines the role of aquatic foods in building healthy, sustainable and equitable food systems.
Christopher Golden of Harvard University and colleagues describe a global database of trace and macronutrients from 3,753 aquatic products, including fish, crustaceans, and seaweeds, in Nature.
By comparing it to foods from land-based sources, the researchers found that the top seven most nutrient-rich foods of animal origin were all aquatic, including oceanic fish (such as tuna and herring), shellfish, and salmonids (including salmon and trout).
The researchers modeled the impact of a roughly 8 percent increase in global blue food production by 2030, and projected that this might reduce associated food prices by 26 percent, promising to improve micronutrient intake for up to 166 million people.
The model also shows that even with only a small increase in production, aquatic products would provide more calcium (an 8 percent increase; taking the median for each country), iron (4 percent), omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA (186 percent), zinc (4 percent), and vitamin B12 (13 percent), but vitamin A is estimated to decline by 1 percent.
The study also showed that increased fish consumption benefits women almost three times as much as men, which may point to a pathway to nutritional equity.
The Evolution of Sea Food
The First Generation of Sea Food
The initial prevalence of sea food began primarily in coastal areas. Dried foods such as ready-to-eat seaweed, grilled fish flakes, and shredded squid were common due to the ease of obtaining ingredients.
However, these forms of marine food are mainly low-end casual food with very serious homogenization. Although the low-end leisure food to cater to the tastes of mass consumers, but such market positioning in the consumer market lack of research and segmentation, both idle high-end market, but also in the low-end market to produce a more intense vicious competition.
Meanwhile, most of them are scattered in different geographical marine industrial and economic zones, with many production enterprises, presenting a small and scattered situation, and the industry concentration is also low.
Before and after 2013, marine food ushered in the category segmentation, fish tofu, fish balls, fish intestines and other surimi products began to appear, showing the development trend of leisure and convenience, fish intestines products are mainly affected by Japan and South Korea and other imported food, the domestic followers also set off a boom. Although surimi products have been in the incremental stage, but due to the subsequent development of enterprises in a flurry, resulting in fierce competition in the category homogeneity.
Marine food second generation
With health and nutrition becoming more and more important to people, marine leisure snacks stand out by virtue of their unique nutritional value. Driven by consumer demand, as well as the support of production technology and innovation more and more mature, a number of brands have begun to marine food multi-directional force.
1) Advanced Seaweed and Dried Fish
Bacchus integrates the characteristics of many snack food categories, and in the product layout of marine snacks, it has launched a seaweed and meat fluff egg roll combining fragrant seaweed, crispy egg rolls and salty meat fluff, with three layers of delicious flavors that can be bitten off in one bite. Positioned for parties, outings and work scenarios, this seaweed snack can also be eaten as a children's minced rice mix.
Positioned as "focusing on marine protein snacks", Mr. Beaver's product matrix is laid out in three categories: children's snacks, light snacks and flavorful snacks, and based on the segmentation of different target users' needs, to make differentiated adjustments to the specific flavors and processes, highlighting different selling points. At the same time, to grasp the core value of raw materials, processing and packaging materials in the preservation link.
Take this freshly baked cod fillet for example, the selection of no starch added 100% cod freshly made, after 6 times stretching, 2 times baking, 0 degrees to lock the freshness of the process makes the cod meat fluffy and salty. At the level of protein and fat, comparing with egg and chicken breast, it closely centers on the product highlights of high protein, low fat, light burden and ready-to-eat. Using many details of the process to reduce the fishy flavor to retain the fresh taste, abandon the heavy seasoning, restore the original flavor, to do in the composition and calories to reduce the burden on consumers.
China's marine protein snack market integration is still low, the channel reach is not comprehensive enough, Mr. Beaver as a representative of the snack brand seized this development opportunity. In 2020, Mr. Beaver took the title of Top1 in Tmall's ready-to-eat fish category, and was ranked among the top 10 emerging brands in 2020 Tmall Gourmet.
2) Light meal replacement, seaweed can also get a piece of the pie
Focusing on the low-fat track, POPOCEAN Seaweed Planet relies on complete upstream raw material supply resources as well as the core research and development team to create more than 90% of deep-sea 0-fat seaweed fresh noodles.
This light seaweed fresh noodle is made of more than 90% deep seafood seaweed, no boiling and no soaking, and can be consumed anytime and anywhere. Each bag of noodles has only 38 calories, equivalent to 1/4 of an apple. During the production process, aerospace-grade FD freeze-drying technology is used to maximize the retention of the nutrients in the seaweed itself while maintaining the Q-bouncy texture of the noodles. The unique Seaweed Fresh Noodle has received widespread attention from the industry and consumers since its launch.
3) Locked nutrition, seafood cross-border children's food
Unlike snacks, children's seafood is more concerned about children's daily diet and nutritional supplements. Compared with foreign markets, China's children's seafood products are still in the early stages of development.
Fishery Pacific takes "sharing the unique culinary culture and health value of tuna" as its corporate purpose, and has created a tuna prepackaged food industry chain with low sugar, low salt, low fat, high protein and high nutrition as its standard. Relying on the industrial chain source advantage of Fishery Pacific Group, its children's food brand, Fishery Cute, has initially formed a product research and development system centered on tuna DHA health and nutrition from tuna product research and development to deep-processing process re-engineering.
As a recommended product of China's offshore fishing industry, Fish Lovely's tuna flakes are targeted at children's meal consumption scenarios. Tuna flakes are rich in DHA, which is good for children's brain and vision development. Compared with other fish floss, this product is baked over a gentle fire and crisped by multiple grinding, and the powder is fine. One bag per meal is scientifically dosed and simply added to children's meals and gently stirred to dissolve.
These brands have cut their teeth in different categories, tracks and consumer scenarios, and have made quite an impact on the new generation of deep processing of marine food. Not all of the innovations, however, have been profitable.
For example, consumers still lack sufficient popularization about the nutritional value of tuna. Fishing lovely children's snacks in the price is not advantageous. In addition to differentiation to create products, marketing to promote the selling point of the product, matching the consumer's perception of consumption, to persuade parents to be willing to pay a premium for high-quality children's food, are all need to be considered in depth and development.
4) Seafood innovation convenient fast food
Intensive research "low-carbohydrate diet", lost sugar for the upgrading of the traditional staple food. Instead of traditional refined noodles, deep-sea golden thread fish is used, which is lower in carbohydrates and rich in nutrients such as DHA and EPA, especially the seasoning packet, which is also low in carbohydrates. The new Japanese black garlic oil pork bone, gold soup beef flavors, the main good to eat not fat, convenient and fast fish-made noodles features, suitable for all in the fat loss period of the crowd, to meet want to eat staple food but afraid of fat mentality.
3 months after the launch of the new flavor of fish noodles, the total sales reached more than 8.5w boxes, the repurchase rate is as high as 10.6%, and also won the Wowfood Best Convenience Food Award Wave Food Award.
Specializing in "Oriental Nourishment, Nourishing Life", Jiunian, which is y engaged in sea cucumber products, is characterized by strict selection of raw materials, slow stewing process, and chef's taste. Launched seafood gift packs, combined with the secret wall of Buddha jumping over the wall, the Yuanqi Huajiao chicken and abalone stewed in thick soup, the products are positioned in the family small gatherings, friends get-togethers, one-person food, gift-giving, New Year's Eve dinner and other scenarios. As the IP co-branded model of CCTV's "National Treasure", the packaging design is inspired by the "various glazed vases" of the Qing Dynasty, a national treasure that combines more than a dozen kinds of firing techniques in one, with auspicious images such as "Sanyangkaitai" and "Jiyuyu". This national treasure combines more than ten kinds of firing techniques in one bottle, together with auspicious images such as "Three Suns to Open Heaven" and "Lucky Celebration with Surplus", which is in line with the characteristics of the product, which combines all kinds of delicacies in one box. The design is based on the original auspicious images of "San Yang Kai Tai" and "Lucky Celebration" on the bottle, with the addition of the corresponding treasured ingredients.
Pursuing high-end quality, Jiunian has been winning good results with its sea cucumber series products alone. 2020, Jiunian won the "Best Contribution Award" of Tmall Gourmet in June, and the super single product of sea cucumber broke 10,000 catties in Double 11, defending the top1 of the aquatic industry. 2021, Jiunian ranked No.1 of the fresh food industry in the New Year's Festival of Goods in January. first.
From the point of view of the contemporary young people's pain point demand for eating difficult, cooking bag created a black technology-enhanced heat convection speed cycle microwave heating bag. Food contents are selected from high-quality and high proportion of ingredients, and -35 ° C frozen crystal lock technology, the whole cold chain transportation to ensure that the food will be the best state presented to consumers.
These products do not have to wait, no complex meal preparation steps, free from the trouble of cleaning up after the meal, and at the same time in the taste and quality without compromise, giving the traditional seafood catering food more convenient, high-end and unique experience.
In September 2020, the store was launched, in the pre-sale phase of the product successfully selected "2020 Tmall Emerging Brand Creation Camp", and in October won the Tmall food hot search net red flavor "the best product power". The first month of the product online single sku natural sales more than 10,000 bags, on the line two months repurchase rate of more than 10%.
And also focusing on the frozen 3R food brand I house, through the raw material selection and complex and sophisticated processing technology, the eel fried rice Japanese flavor embodied in the best, to promote the eel fried rice jumped to the net red food.
Global demand for blue food could double by 2050
Understanding the demand for aquatic products is critical to assessing their current and future role in the global cool water system. Currently, a common view is that demand for fish production will need to expand in the coming decades to meet the needs of increasing populations and changing incomes.
In the third article in this series, published in NatureCommunication, Dr. Rosamond Naylor and colleagues combined data from the FAO and the World Bank to investigate four dimensions of income, trade, geography, culture, and preferences at the global, regional, and national levels to assess current and future global blue food demand changes.
The researchers found that human demand for fish has doubled in the early 21st century. Existing models predict that human demand for fish is likely to double again in 2050, due to a variety of economic, cultural, and trade factors.
However, demand for fish varies by region. Asia will continue to lead the way in freshwater fish consumption, and is still the most consumed freshwater fish in 2050.
In particular, China will dominate consumption of crustaceans, demersal fish, and cephalopod species; Ghana and Peru will continue to dominate consumption of small pelagic fish; and France, Spain, the United States, Mexico, and Brazil will continue to consume a wide range of fish species. Nigeria's per capita fish consumption, although low, will exceed Ghana's demand at the national level by 2050, given the country's large population.
Overall, this study suggests that given the progress of globalization and the influence of economic, cultural and trade factors, human consumption of blue foods is likely to continue to increase and take the place of some terrestrial animal foods, with high impacts on human nutrition and the environment.