Why urban families buy, or avoid, packaged fish

What is shaping fishing

Fishing connects coastal communities, processors and exporters in a supply chain where freshness, ice and timing decide value. Livelihoods depend on seasons, regulation and access to cold chain.

• Seasonal fishing bans and weather drive income cycles
• Cold chain and processing determine export quality
• Welfare schemes and cooperatives support fisher families

A packaged seafood brand in Asia, working in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur & Jakarta. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

A packaged seafood brand in Asia

Sector

Fishing

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Consumer panel, Quantitative research, Qualitative research

The brand’s frozen fish products had strong quality controls, yet many fish-eating families still preferred the local market. The brand wanted to understand the barriers and which households were most open to switching.

• Answer the core question: why urban families buy, or avoid, packaged fish.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of fish-eating households.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 6 weeks.

The work focused on 1,400 fish-eating households.

• fish-eating households1,400

Audiences we typically reach in fishing

Fishers and boat ownersFish traders and auctioneersProcessors and exportersSeafood consumersCooperatives and scheme officials

Coverage: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur & Jakarta. Markets: Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia.

• Japan
• Hong Kong
• Malaysia
• Indonesia

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Online survey
3. 3Accompanied shopping visits
4. 4Insight

Our consumer panel provided a survey sample of fish-eating households across four coastal and inland cities. We also accompanied shoppers to fish markets and supermarkets to watch how they judged freshness and what reassured them.

Consumer panelQuantitative researchQualitative research

fish-eating households

1,400

• Respondents were selected across Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur & Jakarta using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
• Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

shopping visits

16

• Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
• The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
• Time and location checks on field interviews
• Supervisor accompaniment in the field
• Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
• Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
• Review of open-ended answers
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Shoppers trusted what they could see and smell, and frozen packs gave them no such cues.
• Working families who valued cleaned, ready-to-cook fish were the most open to switching.

Watching people shop explained a barrier that survey answers only hinted at.

• Build on the core insight: watching people shop explained a barrier that survey answers only hinted at.
• Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: shoppers trusted what they could see and smell, and frozen packs gave them no such cues.
• Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.

• The brand redesigned packs with transparent windows and catch-date information and focused on online grocery channels.

What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interview summaries and key verbatims

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: how do fishers manage income through the season?