Named after a term that pays homage to the wives of fishermen who historically sold their husbands' catches at markets, Fishwife has given tinned fish a second life no one could have predicted.
As much of the U.S. was busy perfecting sourdough and banana bread recipes during COVID-19, music business marketer Becca Millstein and her then-roommate, writer and podcaster Caroline Goldfarb (who has since departed the brand), were focused on something else in their Los Angeles apartment: tinned fish.
Millstein grew to love the oily treats during a semester abroad in Spain and began incorporating tinned fish into the pair’s pandemic “girl dinners.” For two health-conscious young women, it was the perfect food — easy to add to a bevy of dishes or snacked on straight out of the can.
“Our mission is very much to be the brand that's synonymous with tinned fish in the U.S.,” Millstein said. “But the road from noticing a gap to filling that gap in a completely unfamiliar industry wasn’t easy. There was a tremendous learning curve.”
As the hashtag #girldinner concept took off, thanks to pandemic-era TikTok, so did the idea of simple, ready-to-eat meals that were also aesthetic. While tinned fish was a big category in the U.S. with $2.6 billion in annual sales in 2021, per Grand View Research, the category wasn’t seen as ripe for upheaval or innovation.
But Millstein had an “aha moment” when she noticed that all of the tinned fish cans she was buying were produced by European brands.
Recognizing a niche, Millstein and Goldfarb launched Fishwife in 2020.
What distinguished it was not only its emphasis on sustainability and supply chain transparency, but also its distinctive, vibrant and colorful tins. With immediate social media popularity, the direct-to-consumer company quickly caught the attention of publications such as Vogue and the New York Times.
Millstein spent a month speaking to advisers, then came up with the idea to test the market with a minimum viable product they called the Beta Box. In essence, the brand’s look was developed before sourcing.
“This was a branded box — I'd already hired (illustrator) Danny [Miller] and we'd created the initial brand identity — and filled it with tinned fish samples from our potential suppliers,” Millstein said.
The product sold out almost immediately.
Millstein’s goal has been to elevate the reputation of tinned seafood in the U.S. to get American consumers to view it the way European consumers do, but with an attractive twist.
She started researching ethical sourcing and creating a sustainable supply chain.
“Some of our cannery partners have been in business for almost 100 years,” Millstein noted. “For example, in Spain, the canneries we work with have known the people that own these fishing boats for generations, so they're getting our anchovies or tuna right off the port. It's 100% traceable.”
Millstein presented her idea on Shark Tank in 2023. As part of her pitch, Millstein disclosed that Fishwife earned $750,000 in 2021 and $2.6 million the following year. It was on track to make $5.8 million in 2023.
Millstein’s Shark Tank appearance provided a big growth spike as well as financial backing from Lori Greiner and Sprinkles founder Candace Nelson.
Having a direct-to-consumer business was like having a built-in focus group in the beginning, Millstein said. This was pivotal to the brand’s success.
“If you're not asking your customer about every single major decision you're making, you're missing out on your most valuable informational resource,” Millstein said.
Her marketing experience proved pivotal and moving from the music business into the CPG space wasn’t as disparate an idea as expected.
“I was doing brand partnerships and marketing in music, so it's all very transferable,” she said.
This lighthearted approach to what had been considered by some, a stodgy category, has made Fishwife the fastest growing tinned fish brand in the channel, according to Millstein.
Leslie Zane, CEO of Triggers Brand Consulting, a firm that helps boost a brand’s perception in the market, has worked with hundreds of CPG brands over her more than 20 years in marketing. She is impressed by Fishwife’s product and Millstein’s marketing.
“It’s relatively easy to take market share from legacy players,” Zane said. “But she’s starting a movement that’s bringing new users and younger women into the category because she’s making it cool to eat tinned fish. She’s helping grow the category — that’s the hardest thing to do.”
