UK’s fourth-largest supermarket retailer Aldi has invested over £45 million in the British seafood sector over the past 12 months, the company has said.
This substantial investment has allowed Aldi, now the UK’s third-largest fish retailer, to broaden its British-sourced seafood range. In 2024 alone, the supermarket introduced 20 new products, including British Pollock, Chunky Breaded Cod, and Haddock.
“At Aldi, we are incredibly proud of the long-standing relationships we have with British fisheries across the country," said Julie Ashfield, Managing Director of Buying at Aldi UK.
"This increased investment demonstrates our commitment to these partnerships and our dedication to providing our customers with high-quality, sustainably sourced British fish," she added.
The £45 million spent marks the largest investment yet by the supermarket chain, which Aldi says illustrates its "ongoing commitment to championing Great British quality and supporting more UK suppliers".
These include one of Scotland’s largest family-owned seafood manufacturers, Thistle Seafoods, headquartered in Peterhead, the UK's largest fishing port. The Scottish firm has provided Aldi with a range of seafood products, including coated fish, and frozen cod and haddock, for more than 20 years.
Marking the milestone back in December 2023, Ryan Scatterty, Managing Director of Thistle Seafoods, said the partnership had "opened up a whole new audience of customers to try our quality seafood products, with the fishcakes going on to become our most popular product at Aldi", adding: “The relationship we’ve built over the last 20 years has allowed us to plan for the future, giving us the confidence and justification to invest in new equipment and facilities."
In recognition of its efforts, Aldi was named the MSC UK Mid-size Store Retailer of the Year in 2023 for expanding its range of certified sustainable fish and seafood products.
Aldi UK is the British division of the global discount supermarket chain Aldi, which first entered the UK market in 1990, rapidly growing to become the fourth-largest supermarket retailer in the country, after Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda.