This Industry Voices edition features insights from Jorge Alonso Peña, Marketing & Trade Director Europe at Nauterra.
1. Nauterra manages brands with decades of history across very different European markets. What has changed the most over the last three years in the way consumers relate to those brands, and what have you had to adjust in response — in communication, positioning, and portfolio?
Consumers no longer buy only a product: they buy a decision.
What has changed the most is that consumers no longer buy only a product: they buy a decision.
They want quality, yes, but also transparency, purpose, convenience, and consistency with their lifestyle. In the past, the historical trust of a brand was enough; today, that trust has to be renewed every day.
Over the last three years, we have seen consumers become much more rational in their spending due to inflation, but also much more emotional in their expectations.
They are looking for brands that simplify their lives, provide health, are honest, and understand how they really live.
This has forced us to evolve on three fronts:
- Communication: less corporate discourse and more closeness, more authenticity, active listening, and a stronger emotional connection and intimacy with the consumer.
- Portfolio and innovation: expanding proposals linked to convenience, nutrition, and new consumption moments. Launches such as the Foodies salad range, Calvo Natural Pro+, and the premium Luis Calvo range are clear examples of this.
- Positioning: our brands cannot live only from their legacy; they have to demonstrate cultural relevance and daily usefulness.
The brands that will lead the future will not necessarily be the largest, but those most capable of connecting with people’s real lives.
2. Canned tuna lives in a permanent tension between price, quality, and origin. From your position, managing both the brand and trade with major European retailers, how are those balance decisions made? What gives way first, and what is non-negotiable?
When a company compromises on quality, food safety or sustainability to win a price battle, it is actually losing the future.
The tension exists because consumers want three things at the same time: a competitive price, the highest quality, and guarantees of origin.
And our responsibility is to demonstrate that this balance is possible, although it requires a great deal of industrial and strategic discipline.
At Nauterra, we make decisions with the long term in mind, not the quarter.
There are things that can be adapted — formats, promotions, assortment, logistics efficiency — but there are others that are absolutely non-negotiable: product quality, food safety, and the sustainability of the supply chain.
When a company compromises on that in order to win a price battle, it is actually losing the future.
In addition, we work very closely with retailers because we understand that the retailer is no longer only a customer; it is a strategic partner in building the category.
The real challenge is not to sell more cans, but to generate more value for everyone: the consumer, the retailer, and the industry.
Cost pressure will continue to exist. The difference will be who is capable of continuing to generate trust in the middle of that pressure.
3. Private label has gained share in almost every FMCG category. How is Nauterra responding to that pressure through its manufacturer brands — in product differentiation, point-of-sale activation, and the proposal you bring to the retailer?
When a brand brings traffic, rotation, and perceived value, it stops being a cost and becomes an asset for the retailer.
Private label has raised the level of market expectations enormously, and that is positive because it forces everyone to improve.
But we believe that manufacturer brands continue to play a fundamental role: innovating, with investments of €30 million in R&D over the last four years, building the category, and generating emotional connection with the consumer.
That is where our competitive advantage lies.
Our response is not to compete only on price through operational efficiency.
It is to offer real differentiation: a better product experience, innovation in formats, nutrition, convenience, and a much stronger relationship with the final consumer.
And we are also changing the way we work with retailers.
Today, the conversation is no longer only commercial; it is strategic. We share data, trends, insights, and category vision.
The objective is not to occupy shelf space, but to help it grow.
Because when a brand brings traffic, rotation, and perceived value, it stops being a cost and becomes an asset for the retailer.
4. Beyond the classic can, in which formats, consumption moments, or value propositions is Nauterra investing in order to grow? Is there any specific movement underway that is still not very visible in the market?
The next great revolution in the category will not come only from what is inside the can, but from everything that happens around it.
The big change is that tuna no longer competes only within canned food; it competes in the whole universe of fast, healthy, and practical food, where share of stomach is the key variable.
That is why we are working a lot on formats linked to “on the go” consumption, ready-to-eat solutions, and proposals designed for new habits: more flexible meals, smaller households, and consumers looking for healthy protein without giving up convenience.
We also see a huge opportunity in connecting the category with territories where it has historically had less presence: sport, wellness, functional nutrition, and younger consumers.
And probably the most interesting change — although still not very visible — is that innovation is no longer only about product.
It is about experience, traceability, personalisation, and how we use technology to relate to the consumer in a much more direct way.
5. Sustainability is already an entry standard in the category, but translating it to the average consumer remains a challenge. What is really working to make it a purchase argument on the shelf, and what has not worked as expected?
The consumer does not want a thesis; they want to understand in a simple way why they are making a better decision.
What we have learned is that sustainability cannot be communicated from guilt or from technical complexity.
The consumer does not want a thesis; they want to understand in a simple way why they are making a better decision.
What works best is translating sustainability into concrete benefits: trust, traceability, quality, respect for the sea, and the certainty that the product will also have a future in ten years’ time.
In our case, we have seen that messages linked to tangible facts generate much more credibility than generic messages.
For example, today 99% of the tuna we purchase at Nauterra has a certified responsible and sustainable origin, more than 98% of the materials we place on the market are recyclable, and 98% of the waste from our factories is also recovered.
In addition, more than 90% of the electricity we consume already comes from renewable sources.
It also works very well when sustainability is integrated into attributes that the consumer already values naturally: quality, innovation, or ease of use.
A good example is the development of the Vuelca Fácil format, whose international expansion already reaches more than 35 countries, because it brings convenience to the consumer without disconnecting from production efficiency and continuous improvement.
Another important learning is that traceability and certifications are necessary, but on their own they do not change behaviours.
Labels such as MSC or traceability certifications provide support and trust, but they need to be accompanied by narrative, education, and coherence so that the consumer really understands and values them.
And here authenticity is key.
The consumer quickly detects when a company uses sustainability only as marketing.
That is why we believe sustainability has to be integrated throughout the entire value chain and not only in communication: from the fleet and responsible sourcing to industrial innovation or packaging design.
Nauterra participates in all phases of the production process precisely to guarantee quality, traceability, and a more responsible management of marine resources.
In addition, there is one aspect that increasingly weighs on the purchase decision: trust that companies are making real and measurable changes.
In our case, we have been investing in this for years.
In 2024 alone, we allocated €4.9 million to innovation and more than 49,000 hours to the development of more efficient and sustainable processes and products.
I believe the future will belong to companies capable of making sustainability economically sustainable as well.
Because only in that way can positive impact truly scale and be maintained over time.
6. If you had to choose only one lever — health, convenience, traceability, premiumisation, or connection with younger consumers — as Nauterra’s strategic bet for the next five years, which would it be and why?
The key is to work on all those levers in a coherent and synergistic way.
If I had to choose only one, it would be a mistake, because the key is to work on all those levers in a coherent and synergistic way.
For example, today innovation cannot be understood from a single perspective.
Convenience, health, taste, and accessibility are key cross-cutting elements that go hand in hand in food.
We are entering an era in which food is going to play a much more relevant role in people’s lives.
And the companies that know how to bring together health, convenience, trust, and experience will be the ones that lead the market.
At Nauterra, we want to be exactly there: not only selling products, but helping to build a smarter, more practical, and sustainable way of eating.
In the end, Nauterra’s strategic bet will always be to have a real impact on consumers’ lives through food, generating value and relevance in their lives.
BIGEYE NEWS · EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE
The European tuna category is entering a new phase where brands are no longer competing only on price, product, or shelf presence.
🛒 Consumer expectations moving beyond product and price
🏷️ Private label pressure forcing manufacturer brands to prove their value
📊 Retailer relationships becoming more strategic, data-driven, and category-focused
🥗 Convenience, health, and new consumption moments redefining tuna’s competitive arena
♻️ Sustainability shifting from generic claim to measurable proof
🔍 Traceability and transparency becoming core drivers of consumer trust
🎯 Brand relevance depending on daily usefulness, not only historical legacy
What emerges is not simply a change in how tuna is marketed, but a broader transformation in how the category must create value.
The future of the European tuna market will be shaped by companies capable of combining industrial efficiency, consumer understanding, responsible sourcing, innovation, and trust.
In this environment, brands will not win only by being present on the shelf.
They will win by proving why they deserve to remain part of people’s daily lives.