Following the success of the first two sustainable seafood promotions, Carrefour, the world's largest food retailer, and three leading seafood brands Findus, Labeyrie and Connétable are launching event 'Les Jours Bleus' for the third year in succession. From 28th February, they will jointly promote seafood products bearing the MSC sustainable fishing ecolabel in all Carrefour stores across France.
This multi-brand campaign stems from a shared commitment to increase consumer awareness of the MSC and show shoppers that, by choosing MSC labelled products, they can help protect marine resources by rewarding sustainable fisheries.

Les Jours Bleus (Blue Days in English) will be run over two periods in Carrefour stores all across France:

• From 28th February to 7th March in Carrefour hypermarkets
• From 20th to 27th March in Carrefour Market supermarkets

Encouraging shoppers to do their bit for the environment

Independent research [1] conducted in 2011 on environmental labels shows that, for 86% of French people take environmental considerations into account when choosing a product.

Edouard Le Bart, MSC Manager – France says: "Through the purchases they make, consumers have the power to reward fisheries that are protecting the oceans. This is why, for several years now, the Marine Stewardship Council, has been working with partners around the world to roll out in-store multi-brand campaigns, to raise consumer awareness of sustainable fishing."

In France, Carrefour has undertaken to support the MSC and rise to the challenge of promoting sustainable fishing practices. Hervé Gomichon, the Group's Quality and Sustainable Development Director explains: "It is important for Carrefour to offer its customers seafood products that are sourced from well-managed fisheries. For a number of years now, we have opted for certain species from sustainable sources and have developed a range of 40 MSC labelled products of our own brand. Carrefour currently has the largest range of MSC labelled products in France. Our customers are increasingly looking for the MSC ecolabel on packs. With les Jours Bleus, we wish to encourage them to choose seafood from sustainable sources, and contribute to enhancing recognition of the MSC ecolabel inside our stores. Together, with our shoppers and partners, we can help to preserve our oceans."  

Partners driving change

The Blue Days campaign would not be possible without Carrefour's partners' fundamental commitment to sustainable fishing. Matthieu Lambeaux, Managing Director at Findus states: "For many years now, we've been working with the MSC to steer the seafood product market towards greater sustainability. We are proud to be part of Les Jours Bleus for the third year running, as this kind of campaign helps to further raise consumer awareness about protecting marine resources."

Jacques Trottier, Managing Director of Labeyrie says: "We are delighted to take part in the latest Blue Days campaign. Alongside our partners, we will create an in-store environment that includes our MSC labelled products to promote our shared commitment to well-managed, sustainable fishing."

Promoting our joint objectives

Jean-François Hug, Managing Director of Connétable, explains "Since it was launched in 2008, our MSC labelled range has been a great success, and is regularly changed to include even more responsible products. We're proud of our longstanding commitment to the protection of marine resources, which we are achieving in partnership with the MSC".

Edouard Le Bart confirms "By deciding to run a joint campaign and develop shared promotional materials used in-store, our partners are leading the way and showing how strong is their commitment to developing a market for certified sustainable seafood."

At the current time, there are over 800 products bearing the MSC ecolabel available in France. Across the world, there are over 13,000 products with the MSC ecolabel.

For more information

For more information on MSC labelled please visit our Product finder.

Please visit our Les Jours Bleus page for more information on the campaign. 

Or contact [email protected]

About Connétable

With the oldest working sardine cannery in the world, Connétable has, since 1853, focussed on bringing together top quality ingredients and great recipes to give lovers of fine food great tasting products. Its exceptional knowledge of fish, handed down from generation to generation, and manufacturing that combines traditional methods with modern procedures are the pride of the Chancerelle firm. Connétable launched its first MSC labelled range in 2008.

About Findus France

Findus France is part of the Findus Group, one of the largest European food processing and seafood businesses in Europe. 
In France, Findus, the leading frozen foods brand, is renowned for its responsible commitment. In every frozen food category it offers (fish, potatoes, vegetables and ready meals), the brand has made strong, wide-reaching commitments. Hence, all Findus fish comes from sources where marine resources are respected. As part of its Respect for Marine Resources policy, Findus supports independent sustainable fishing certification programs such as the MSC and actively encourages the use of species certified by the board.

About Labeyrie

Labeyrie, the French leader in the smoked salmon and foie gras markets, is part of the Franco-Icelandic group Alfesca, which is the European leader for luxury foods, working in four areas: smoked salmon and other fish, prawns, foie gras and duck products, and blini and other spreadables. For over 60 years, Labeyrie has dedicated its know-how and expertise to the notion of Pleasure, developing products renowned for excellence. Labeyrie is a responsible company, committed to sustainable development, and in 2007 opted for MSC certification for its entire range of smoked wild salmon.

About Carrefour

Carrefour runs four store formats (hypermarket, supermarket, local store and cash & carry) in France, where it has over 4,500 outlets. For over fifty years, Carrefour has positioned itself as a partner in the day-to-day life of its millions of customers, offering them a wide range of goods and services at the best possible price. It has been highly committed to sustainable development for over 20 years and has set up numerous actions aiming to develop responsible trade, mindful of the environment and of people. Carrefour's various commitments to sustainable development can be divided into four areas: protecting resources, managing waste, promoting responsible consumption and social responsibility.

[1] GREEN LABEL EQUITY is an annually subscribed study, carried out as part of OMCAWI, the Ifop omnibus survey run on-line. A national representative sample of 2,000 individuals aged 15 and over, put together using the quota method (sex, age, profession, region, size of town)