Ambient Seafood

The ambient seafood category is mainly composed of shelf-stable items that are primarily sold to consumers through retail channels and occasionally wholesalers. The key seafood species include tuna, sardine, salmon, mackerel and herring. The business dynamics and margin trends of these items share some similarities. There is a higher brand awareness from consumers towards these types of items. Consumer brands in this category generally command a price premium over their private label peers thanks to consumer preference or brand loyalty. The degree of the price premium will depend on the market position of the brand, the competitive nature of the product category, uniqueness of the brand’s offerings and consumers’ emotional attachment towards the brand.

In 2020, sales of this category amounted to THB 62.7 billion, representing 47 percent of the Group’s total sales and were led by the tuna products, which remain the largest product category for Thai Union Group. About 57 percent of these sales came from our own brands, while private label or contract manufacturing sales and food service sales accounted for the balance. Key customers in this category are supermarket chains, discount stores, club stores, convenient and drug stores, and other modern trade outlets. The most typical packaging is a can format. Most products are of ready-to-eat type.