A British supermarket chain has renamed Pollack (Pollachius pollachius), because customers are too embarrassed to ask for it by its given name, the Daily Telegraph reports. The new name launched by the Sainbury’s giant is “Colin”.
Colin is the French name for hake, a similar fish, much more popular there than in Great Britain. Hoping that pollack/colin will raise in popularity on that island, too, Sainbury’s has launched a campaign to lure customers to move from cod to the similar-tasting but more sustainable Pollachius pollachius.
“As a keen fisherman it seems daft that pollack isn’t more popular, particularly when it’s readily available off our own coast, tastes great and is cheaper than cod”, Wayne Hemingway, the package designer and an amateur fisherman, said to the Telegraph.
“Image really is everything; so to help Colin stand out on-shelf we’ve used bold, bright colours and a design that is cheekily inspired by another well-known almost-pollack (artist Jackson Pollock).”
The article was published on April 6.