Online trend sparks boom in supermarket tinned fish sales
Tinned tuna has ascended to the “height of culinary fashion,” driven by social media influencers on TikTok, leading to a significant surge in sales for the everyday cupboard staple.
Supermarket giant Tesco has reported an almost 18 per cent increase in its tinned tuna sales over the past two years, equating to an additional 2.25 million kilograms of the product.
While tinned fish, including tuna, was a prominent kitchen essential in the UK throughout much of the 20th century, its widespread popularity gradually waned following the advent of refrigeration post-Second World War.
Although sales remained robust for decades, experiencing a brief spike during lockdown due to demand for long-shelf-life foods, it is now younger consumers on social media platforms who are bringing it back into vogue.
Lee Bannerman, Tesco’s tinned fish buyer, commented: “Tinned tuna is at the height of culinary fashion and is being driven by younger shoppers who have tuned into the fact that it is a cheap and convenient way of boosting their protein intake.
The trend started in America a few years ago but is now really popular in the UK.” He added that TikTok is “awash with influencers posting their tinned fish meal creations and offering tips on how to jazz up simple, easy-to-make meals such as tuna pasta bakes or salmon salads.”
Mr Bannerman suggested: “You’d probably need to go back nearly 100 years to find the last time that tinned fish was such an exciting commodity.”
LDH (La Doria), an Ipswich-based canned food specialist, supplies the majority of Tesco’s own-brand tinned fish. Robert Wiltshire, LDH’s head of seafood sourcing and sustainability, noted: “Tinned fish and especially tuna has always been popular but with a more defined and more mature audience. We saw a brief, artificial spike in sales during lockdown because fresh food became harder to buy and shoppers were stocking up on tinned foods that would keep for longer.”
He highlighted the current shift: “But now the younger generation are picking up on just how versatile tuna is and even high-end restaurants are adding it to their menus – something that no one would have imagined even five years ago.”
Tesco has confirmed that all its tuna products, including tinned varieties, bear the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) blue tick, signifying sustainable sourcing. Currently, 85 per cent of the supermarket’s wild-caught seafood is MSC-certified, an achievement recognised by the MSC, which named Tesco its retailer of the year in 2025.
George Clark, MSC UK & Ireland programme director, stated: “It’s fantastic to see this ambitious commitment from Tesco to only sell MSC-certified sustainable tuna confirmed. We know that for the younger UK consumer, particularly, sustainability is really important. Making more sustainable tuna available to the TikTok generation shows how Tesco is both meeting expectations of its customers and supporting sustainable tuna fisheries worldwide.”
