Get Involved - We’re Celebrating NF&CD

The biggest day in the fish & chip calendar – National Fish & Chip Day returns for it’s ninth year in 2024 and NEODA has been joined once again by two leading lights in the fish and chip industry, Middleton Foods and the Hook and Fish Packaging Range.

To honour all those involved in the D-Day landings, the largest naval, land and air operation in history, National Fish & Chip Day will be moving from its traditional Friday slot in 2024 and will be celebrating the nation’s favourite dish on Thursday 6th June, which marks the 80th anniversary of this momentous day.

The event has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 2015 and National Fish & Chip Day will recognise the huge importance of fish and chips during WW1 and WW11, and on D-Day in particular.   Fish & Chips were often considered the British national dish and this humble meal was a vital ingredient of the war effort in both the first and second world wars.  The British Government safeguarded the supply of fish and potatoes during both world wars in order to keep up morale.

Gary Lewis, President  of NEODA, founders of National Fish and Chip Day, said “National Fish & Chip Day has always brought the nation together to celebrate this iconic dish, and because of the instrinsic links it has always had with the World Wars and D Day, we decided to move the date to show our support.  

Hook and Fish packaging is supplied exclusively by the Q Partnership which is made up of three family wholesalers, Friars Pride, Henry Colbeck and V A Whitley.  Middleton Foods is a family owned and operated business proudly manufacturing food products such as batter mixes, breadings, curry sauce and gravy, in the heart of the UK.  Continuing their support of the day are Seafood from Norway, who develop markets for Norwegian seafood, along with Blakemans, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of sausage and meat products, and Frymax, suppliers of sustainable palm oil for deep frying, Drywite, producers of liquid Drywite potato preparation, and fish and chip favourite, Pukka Pies, who are all behind NEODA members in making National Fish and Chip Day happen in 2024.

AAK, Duncrue Food Processors, Goldfish, Kerry Foodservice, KFE, KTC, Silbury and Olleco, are also supporting the day and we are grateful to them all.  We will be telling you more about them in the coming weeks – check our socials!

Everybody wants to celebrate this amazing industry who are at the centre of every community from the fishers who go out in all weathers to catch the delicious fish, and the farmers who grow and harvest the perfect potatoes and peas to the fish and chip shops and restaurants who take those fresh ingredients and create our family favourite.

Thank you to this amazing industry that made National Fish & Chip Day 2023 the best yet with a reach of over 140 million people.  KEEP AN EYE OUT ON THIS PAGE FOR FURTHER NEWS!

Don’t miss your chance to get involved and build support – start tweeting with the hashtag #nationalfishandchipday now!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why was National Fish and Chip Day set up?

Back in 2015, one of the finalist businesses of the National Fish & Chip Awards – namely Papa’s Fish & Chips mentioned how a National Awareness Day for fish and chips would be a great addition to the industry calendar. This idea was picked up by a member of the NEODA Board and NEODA decided it was something they could champion, so the first ever National Fish and Chip Day began with a small programme of creative and attention grabbing media activity, undertaken to bring the day to life in the mind of UK consumers and support the industry in driving footfall to local fish and chip businesses – including fish and chip shops, restaurants and foodservice establishments across the UK – to support sales. National Fish and Chip Day is about giving fish and chips the recognition it deserves and helping to secure its position in the eyes of both consumers and the media as the nation’s favourite dish.

Who runs National Fish and Chip Day?

The National Edible Oil Distributors’ Association (NEODA) runs National Fish and Chip Day. The National Edible Oil Distributors’ Association is a non-profit organisation established in 1947 and its members include edible oil and fats refiners, processors, distributors and waste oil collectors. It also covers manufacturers and suppliers of non-oil products (including batter mix, sausages, packaging, and potato preservatives) and other industry bodies. NEODA members operate a Guarantee of Confidence scheme whereby all packs of edible oil and fat sold and distributed by members adhere to a strict set of requirements concerning product contents, labelling and pack sizes. Only products that meet the stringent set of criteria can carry a ‘Guarantee of Confidence’ logo. This label assures the quality of products, so consumers can purchase them with complete confidence.

Why does NEODA run National Fish and Chip Day?

National Fish and Chip Day is an awareness day for the consumer. This means it embraces all formats of the dish not just fish and chips from the local chippy. We try to encompass everyone involved in creating this iconic British dish from fish and chip shops, pub chains, restaurants, retailers to the fishermen and farmers who provide the sustainable and natural ingredients needed to create this nutritionally-balanced family favourite.

What do NEODA get out of it?

NEODA members already have excellent relationships within the industry and this day helps to consolidate and further build on these. It’s a feel-good-day that everybody loves working on and lots of NEODA members get fully behind the day by providing monetary support, prizes and the services of their respective staff to travel around the country engaging with fish and chip shops, often spending the day with them helping out in the shop.

Why should I get involved and what’s in it for me?

Supporting National Fish and Chip Day doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive. By taking part you are joining in an Awareness day that generates huge media coverage in both the build-up to the day and on the day itself. Social media is a cheap but fantastic way to promote your business to both existing customers and also attract new customers to your shop or restaurant. NEODA help you as much as possible to celebrate this awareness day and we have created a core set of promotional support materials (which are downloadable from the NEODA website – www.nationalfishandchipday.org.uk) that you can use to develop your own National Fish and Chip Day campaign.

Do I have to run a competition or give things away?

Absolutely not! This is not the intention and we stress year-on-year that you could do as little as putting up a few balloons in your shop and run a small raffle prize in the build up to the day if you wish. Lots of shops do nothing but still have a successful day because of the PR generated around the day. Lots of shops have reported that National Fish and Chip Day is their most successful trading day of the year, even superseding Good Friday. With a few small ideas and a lot of enthusiasm, you can create a real buzz.

How can I decorate my shop?

Through the National Fish and Chip Day website we sell t-shirts and caps for shop staff and bunting for the shop. These items are all undated so can be used year after year. Our website allows you to download posters for the shop and lots of the industry’s distributors give away promotional posters to shops in the weeks leading up to National Fish and Chip Day. Balloons and unbranded bunting can be purchased cheaply online.

Why is it on a Friday?

Friday is synonymous with fish and chips – historically fish were considered okay to eat on religious fasting days hence ‘fish on Friday’ was born. Friday is also traditionally the day when consumers think of eating fish and chips and is also the day most likely for them to be influenced by social media and wider media awareness/encouragement to do so. The thinking behind National Fish and Chip Day is to try to actively encourage people who either don’t buy, or have stopped buying, fish and chips to re-consider purchasing them again.

Why is National Fish and Chip Day in June when potatoes are often not at their best quality?

It was initially decided that National Fish and Chip Day would take place on the first Friday in June in order to spread out the various industry events or campaigns throughout the year.  The first Friday in June also usually falls on school half term holidays in England and Wales, a time when it was considered there would be increased consumer footfall to fish and chip shops.

However, in 2024, in order to honour all those involved in the D-Day landings, the largest naval, land and air operation in history, National Fish and Chip Day has moved from its traditional Friday slot to THURSDAY 6th June to mark the anniversary of this momentous day.

Why is it a day not a week?

National Fish and Chip Day was inaugurated the year after the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (formerly The Potato Council) disbanded their annual Chip Week promotional initiative. Although consideration was given to the event being a week long, this was considered too long and would cause many shops to feel too much pressure in trying to publicise the campaign for a week and keep up the momentum. However, there is nothing wrong with shops creating the buzz all week leading up to the Friday of National Fish and Chip Day. Many shops run offers all week, with the main event happening on the Friday.

How is NF&CD funded and what is this money spent on?

National Fish and Chip Day is generously funded by lots of NEODA members with additional support provided via the generosity of industry partners such as Seafood from Norway and Pukka Pies.

Our grateful thanks go to The Q Parnership, Middleton Foods, Frymax, Blakemans, Drywite, Olleco, Kerry, KFE, KTC, Keejays, AAK, Duncrue and Silbury.

The majority of funding goes towards running a wide and varied PR and media activity campaign to publicise NF&CD, and which has resulted in a year on year increase in resultant media coverage, with over 62 million people reached.

Success stories include National Fish and Chip Day being featured on: BBC’s The One Show; BBC Saturday Kitchen; ITV Loose Women; ITV This Morning; Forces TV; BBC Radio 2; BBC Breakfast News; ITV’s Coronation Street; Talk Radio; Absolute Radio; Radio X; LBC; Magic; 5 Live, Heart FM, Capital and Radio London. Consumer print media coverage includes titles such as The Daily Mail; The Sun, The Daily Star, The Daily Express, The Daily Mirror, City AM, i, Metro, as well as Woman’s Weekly, That’s Life, Take a Break, Country Living amongst many others. This is alongside a strong social media presence for NFCD where the day was trending on Twitter from 8am.