Norwegian skrei is making waves across Europe despite the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions with Norway exporting prime product worth €16.5m during the first quarter of 2021.
The skrei is proving popular across the continent with France calling it a premium seasonal product and Germany the ‘gold from Lofoten’.
With travel restrictions and closed restaurants because of the ongoing pandemic, the Norwegian Seafood Council have had to adapt the way it works. "This year, we have not been able to organise any press trips to bring foreign journalists to Lofoten,” said Anette Grøttland Zimowski, head of international PR with the Norwegian Seafood Council.
In recent months the council’s envoys in France, Spain and Germany have reported a growing interest in skrei among journalists, social media influencers and chefs with 22 features on German television and more than 200 articles in newspapers and magazines. “We see that there is great interest among media and bloggers to write about skrei,” continued Ms Grøttland Zimowski. “In fact, our media coverage is currently higher than in previous years, despite the very demanding market situation,” she added.
To raise visibility further the council has created a digital cooking course and launched a new cookbook solely about skrei, available in German and Spanish.
