Aldi fuels boom in caviar sales: Amount spent on delicacy up by nearly half on last year as shoppers opt for exotic seafoods

Caviar sales have hit record levels as Brits splash out on exotic seafoods.

New figures out yesterday/Wednesday showed spending on caviar hit a high of £167,500 in the four weeks to January 2.

It is 44 per cent higher than the same period in the previous year, according to new figures from industry body Seafish.

Experts said an increased availability of caviar on the High Street and in discount supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl sent sales soaring.

Other exotic seafood also saw big growth, with whitebait sales rocketing by nearly 12,000 (correct) per cent to £34,500 and cuttlefish up 230 per cent to more than £3,000.

Red snapper has established itself as an exotic staple, with sales up 420 per cent year on year to more than £10,000.

Sales of ling, similar to cod in taste and texture, were up 3,000 per cent.

Julia Brooks, an analyst at Seafish, told trade magazine The Grocer: 'It's great to see a wider variety of seafood making gains in the market.

'As well as being an indicator of shifting consumer tastes, these findings also reflect an increased effort from retailers to expand their product ranges and bring undervalued, high quality speces into the mainstream.'