When canned fish began unexpectedly flooding her social media feed, senior marketing and business analytics major Zoe Shockites took notice. The sudden trend, paired with a chance conversation, led her to research Portugal’s fish canning industry and secure extra funding for her summer internship in Portugal.
“Cooking influencers started using tinned fish a lot, which I found unusual,” recalls the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business student from Evergreen, Colorado. “It also became a microtrend in fashion. I started seeing T-shirts with graphics of cute sardines on them.”
Tin fish then became part of an exchange between Shockites and a salesman when she mentioned her upcoming internship in conversation. He replied that he hoped to take his daughter to Portugal, a major exporter of sardines, because she loves the small fish.
The final connection came when Shockites learned from Haslam’s International Programs and Study Abroad (IPSA) office that she might earn a scholarship by writing a research paper on international business. She already knew a topic to study: the Portuguese tin fish industry.
For more than a century, tinned fish has been marketed as a nutritious, low-cost food staple. Shockites’ research showed that Portuguese canned fish producers have struggled to prosper under the European Union’s environmental regulations, which have raised the cost of their tinned fish as they compete with companies elsewhere that can produce the product more cheaply. The study also revealed the creative way some Portuguese tinned fish producers are attempting to alter this dynamic.
Other canned fish companies are also marketing their wares as high-end products, which appeal to cooking influencers, foodies and others, leading to more tin fish appearances on digital media. During her internship, Shockites saw firsthand some of these products in tin fish stores whose sole stock is canned seafood.
“A lot of these companies transformed tinned fish into a novelty, so that now, tourists are paying €15 for a tin of sardines,” Shockites explains.
Investigation Discovers Struggling Industry’s Pivot
Shockites was awarded a study abroad scholarship with her paper, “Sustainability and the Sea: Environmental Policy and the Portuguese Canned Fish Sector,” which was published this fall in Journal for Global Business & Community and helped explain canned fish’s rise on social media.
For more than a century, tinned fish has been marketed as a nutritious, low-cost food staple. Shockites’ research showed that Portuguese canned fish producers have struggled to prosper under the European Union’s environmental regulations, which have raised the cost of their tinned fish as they compete with companies elsewhere that can produce the product more cheaply. The study also revealed the creative way some Portuguese tinned fish producers are attempting to alter this dynamic.
“A lot of these companies transformed tinned fish into a novelty, so that now, tourists are paying €15 for a tin of sardines,” Shockites explains.
In her paper, she cites the O Valor Tempo Group, which rebranded its Comur canning facility’s products as The Fantastic World of the Portuguese Sardine, creating beautifully designed fish tins for each major Portuguese city. The change reinvigorated the company’s business—its sardines remain a nourishing food source, and the original artwork makes the tins collectables.
Other canned fish companies are also marketing their wares as high-end products, which appeal to cooking influencers, foodies and others, leading to more tin fish appearances on digital media. During her internship, Shockites saw firsthand some of these products in tin fish stores whose sole stock is canned seafood.
“They have carousels of all these different tin fishes, which are very ornate and have different themes,” she says. “It was interesting to see how they are upbranding.”
Internship Helps Business Reach More Clients
During her international experience, Shockites served as a communications and social media intern for Impact Trip in Lisbon, Portugal. A travel agency that matches volunteers with different programs, Impact Trip houses them in hostels the organization or its partners operate across Europe. However, the agency wants to expand its customer base, which Shockites’ internship focused on: attracting a different clientele to its Lisbon beach house.
“They have carousels of all these different tin fishes, which are very ornate and have different themes,” she says. “It was interesting to see how they are upbranding.”
“I did a lot of their marketing specifically for that beach house,” she says. “Many of my duties entailed attracting regular vacationers through their various marketing outlets.”
Shockites ran the company’s social media accounts and created graphics and banners, which allowed her to leave her mark with the company. “They opened a beach bar and café in their hostel, and I got to make the big banner that is still hanging there,” she recalls.
Cultural Differences and International Connections
As she worked as an intern and discovered Lisbon, Shockites adjusted to the cultural differences of her temporary home. She notes that the Portuguese casual approach to time management contrasts with the strict punctuality prominent in the U.S.
“Everyone always runs 15 or 30 minutes late, and it is interesting to make that adjustment,” she says. “Those were small nuances that you get used to.”
Because the company that partnered with IPSA housed all its Lisbon interns in one location, Shockites had the opportunity to engage with a wide range of cultural perspectives and build global connections, an experience she thoroughly enjoyed.
“I lived with 40 other people from all over the world who were all around my age, also completing internships in Lisbon for eight weeks,” Shockites explains. “I now have friends from Kazakhstan and Hong Kong and across the world.”
An International Experience Others Should Emulate
Shockites praises IPSA, saying she is especially grateful to Lauren Jacobs, IPSA’s director, for mentoring her on the research paper. Jacobs applauds Shockites in turn, calling her dedication to her research remarkable, given that she conducted her study and wrote her paper while balancing a full course load and preparing to intern abroad.
“As a writer and researcher, Zoe is both curious and meticulous, and her genuine joy in discovery was inspiring,” Jacobs says. “Seeing her hard work culminate in publication is truly rewarding. I’m so proud of her accomplishment!”
Shockites also appreciates how the IPSA staff prepared her for the internship, saying, “I had a lot of questions before I committed to anything. They were very helpful in answering all of those and making sure every step of the way was planned and executed well.”
After experiencing the different nature of work and culture in Portugal, Shockites encourages other Haslam students to take advantage of an experience abroad.
“I think it’s the best thing you can do while you’re in college,” she says.
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CONTACT:
Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu
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