Advertise Or Educate

For some companies, using the blue tick MSC label on their products is sufficient enough to communicate the message of sustainability. Others, however, take the approach of supplying much more information on the packaging of products, including, among other things, catching methods. Are consumers prepared to learn the ins and outs of gear-types to make this practice worthwhile? Are companies making the most out of an important opportunity to advertise?

As well as having the MSC logo, a pack of frozen albacore steaks found in the Dutch supermarket, Nettorama, provides the standard information regarding weight and nutrition. The packaging also has detailed information about gear-type, and even though not obliged to, informs the consumer that the steaks could come from FAO zone 71, 77 or 81 (WC, EC or SE Pacific).

The sustainability of the product is reinforced by stating that the impact of the eco-system was minimized and that the tuna was caught by longline vessels. This is elaborated on by describing the length of lines used, and the way bait is placed on vertical hooks. It is also explained that the fishermen used circular hooks to minimize bycatch.

Comparing this to another pack of private label MSC certified frozen albacore steaks, sold in the Netherland’s largest supermarket chain, Albert Heijn, reveals the choices faced when deciding what the most useful feature to promote on tuna packaging is.

In terms of catching methods, the box explains that the tuna was caught in the Pacific, and with lines, but goes into no further detail. Additionally, sustainability claims are limited to a sentence that declares the product is from an MSC-certified fishery. There is more emphasis placed on the quality of the product, with the temperature that it was frozen at used to explain its freshness.

With two differing approaches to packaging products, it remains to be seen which is optimal. Superunie, which is a Dutch purchasing group that represents 13 retailers with over 1,800 stores nationwide, appears to believe that the tuna industry still has work to do to totally satisfy public skepticism over sustainability issues.

However, with that in mind, it is difficult to know what consumers want and need from packaging. Retailers come under intense scrutiny from NGOs such as Greenpeace, which puts emphasis on communicating catching methods, with a clear preference for pole and line.

In a Dutch consumer TV show called Radar, a Greenpeace Netherlands representative promoted pole and line tuna as the only sustainable choice for consumers to look for, despite there not being enough supply to satisfy global demand, according to the then Coordinating Director of the International Pole and Line Foundation, Emily Howgate, in 2016. Of the total tuna catch in 2015, which is estimated at nearly 6.2 million tons, Howgate put pole and line catch at around 357,000 tons.

When approached by Atuna to explain why free-school caught or MSC certified tuna wasn’t mentioned on Radar, Tom Grijsen, Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace said that the NGO believed MSC was also a good choice but it was important to keep a clear and easy-to-follow message for consumers.

If this message is acted upon by consumers, however, and there is not being enough pole and line caught tuna on the shelves, it could be that tuna products are avoided altogether, regardless of their sustainability credentials. While consumers may not know what free-school caught tuna means, by not mentioning it at all, Greenpeace could risk damaging the credibility of operations that have made progress in protecting the future of stocks and the environment.

In the face of this circumstance, combined with the reality that brands and retailers can be aggressively protested against by NGOs, it is understandable that a company may be preoccupied with satisfying the likes of Greenpeace.

However, when polled, 73 percent of Atuna respondents believed that catching methods are either too complicated or too time-consuming to use as a method to communicate sustainability, which brings into question the effectiveness of dwelling on pole and line.

It can be difficult to concisely explain such a complex topic, so there is often a tradeoff that is made. With less space to promote more beneficial elements of the product and industry, it is more challenging to build stronger ties through marketing with customers that have already had their sustainability concerns satisfied by seeing the MSC logo.

Therefore, instead, it is more likely for brands and private labels to give consumers a detailed story behind the product online rather than on the packaging.

The tuna steaks from the first picture are marketed under the Vis Marine branding, which is the private label of Superunie. The albacore steaks, which are supplied by Anova and retail at EUR 3.49 (USD 3.92) for 250 grams, have been in circulation since the end of 2014.

Eline Poels, Coordinator for Sustainable Trade for Superunie, informed Atuna that in the few years the steaks have been on sale, they have been sourced from MSC fisheries and carried the blue tick. When asked whether the motivation to go into such detail on the packaging had come from customers requesting more information, she indicated that her company doesn’t receive much feedback, but had opted to take a pragmatic approach, so those that want information can find it easily.

The German market provides an interesting comparison. A study commissioned by MSC found that 70 percent of its 1,034 participants knew and trusted the MSC blue tick logo.

Nonetheless, Penny Markt, which is a discount chain with around 2,250 stores in Germany, made an interesting ploy on the packaging of its private label (Berida) canned skipjack. Despite being pole and line caught, as well as MSC certified, the packaging places a heavy emphasis on explaining the catching method. The canned product is fillets in own juice and is sold for EUR 1.99 (USD 2.23)

It is clear that Penny Markt has expanded on the opportunity to simply reassure and educate consumers about the gear-type and sustainability of its product. Though its MSC certification is signposted, the packaging goes further.

Not only is pole and line “extremely selective”, but it is “gentle and persistent”. The tone and words used in the copy are evidence that sustainability and responsible sourcing are seen as ways to generate sales. Indeed, the same MSC study mentioned above found that three out of five German consumers would be willing to pay above average for sustainability.

Penny Markt is owned by the REWE Group yet, interestingly, the group’s flagship chain (REWE) does not use the same, seemingly well thought out marketing tactic.

In a complex way, the packaging advises consumers that it is also a pole and line product, describing it as hooks and long lines ‘operated by hand’. There is no text comparable to the packaging of the Penny Markt private label tuna, with the sustainability claim limited to explaining the FAO zone the skipjack was caught in, and MSC signposting. The price of this can of tuna fillets in own juice is also EUR 1.99.

With both German products having been caught by pole and line, which is arguably the gear-type with the most positive connotations for consumers, it could be deemed that REWE missed an opportunity to advertise.

It must be noted that although the majority of the respondents to the study carried out in the German market were willing to pay more for sustainable products, this goodwill has a limit. Around half of them believed that an 18 percent increase to guarantee sustainability is too much.

Further to this, store checks, also carried out last year, have revealed that the same product and weight, with no sustainability claim, can be retailed at as little as EUR 0.99 (USD 1.11) by competitor, EDEKA. With such a price gap available to the German consumer, it makes REWE’s decision not to fully target an identified segment all the more confusing.

REWE declined Atuna’s invitation to explain its approach to marketing tuna or what it believes is important to consumers.

Although from a licensing perspective, MSC’s influence on the packaging is limited to ensuring the use of its trademark, Chain of Custody number, and the MSC claim are correct, the organization believes that it has a role to play in educating customers.

Victor Simoncelli, MSC Commercial Director of the Benelux branch, stated: “We are always very keen to work with all certified partners to explain issues in fishing, but especially to show them there is an answer… We try very hard to get that message across, and support and stimulate partners to do so as well.”

With some inquisitive consumers bound to want additional information about the sustainability of their seafood purchases, it is vital that the tuna industry takes on Simoncelli’s point, is transparent and assists them in finding it. However, whether it is essential to get the message across using packaging is debatable.

In its clamor to urge consumers to buy pole and line, is Greenpeace not engaging in a form of opaqueness by not also advising of the impact the technique can have on stocks used as bait? The pros and cons of the gear-types used in commercial tuna fishing are many, and how sustainable they are is entirely dependent on how they are used.

This is why MSC certified products are sought after; because the blue tick is supposed to represent all the work done by third parties in determining whether fisheries have reached high sustainability standards, and maintained them.

With companies that have already gone to the trouble and additional expense of sourcing MSC certified tuna, it is logical that, their first priority would be to see a return on that investment. There is little evidence to suggest that customers are more likely to contribute to this return after learning about gear-type.