Women in Fish and Chips hosted held a successful Zoom webinar conference on January 18th, 2020, to help shops to connect and share ideas during the lockdown.
The JJ Foodservice-backed initiative hosted seven inspiring speakers under the theme ‘Innovating to Thrive,’ covering menu ideas, eating in trends and lockdown success stories.
More than 50 shops attended from across the UK, together with industry bodies Seafish and the Marine Stewardship Council.
“Lockdown can be isolating – not just for people working from home but for businesses too,” said Chief Product Officer at JJ, Sezer Ozkul. “We were delighted to host some of the UK’s best shops to share ideas.”
Social media tips & local partnerships
Director of Hooked-on-the-Heath in Cheshire, Tori Howard, ran a popular session on how to use Tik Tok, one of the fastest-growing social media platforms.
“Since the lockdowns, people are experimenting with making their own videos, so we decided to give it a try. We ended up going viral with more than 300K views,” she said.
Meanwhile, Vicky Webster, Owner of Captain Cod in Chislehurst achieved a years’ worth of sales in three months by partnering with a local pizzeria to expand her online menu.
“I was determined not to be beaten by the pandemic,” she said.
The fish and chip sector has outperformed the total eating out market during the pandemic, according to Suzi Pegg-Darlison, Market Insight Analyst at Seafish. Shops have seen a 27% decline in sales versus 49% in pubs and 33% in casual dining.
Pegg-Darlison said, “Concepts like meal deals and food subscriptions could help shops grab an even larger share on the market in future.”
50% of shops that attended the webinar said they saw an increase in sales during pandemic, according to a live poll.