The other three food and drink brands making the CoolBrands short list of 20 products were: the confectionery Jelly Belly, Mount Gay Rum and S. Pellegrino water.
The Grimsby-based business Saucy Fish Co is the first fish firm to win a place on the short list in the 12-year history of the survey.
Saucy Fish Co, owned by Seachill, was launched just three years ago. It aims to persuade supermarket customers to buy more fish by using trendy packaging and its ‘bake-in-a-bag-format’.
A statement on the firm’s website admitted: “We’re feeling rather cool here at Saucy Fish HQ. We’ve netted a place amongst the best brands in the UK by becoming the first ever fish brand to make it on to the prestigious CoolBrands list!
‘Voted for by 3,000 consumers’
“Voted for by 3,000 consumers and a panel of 37 designers, style experts and media personalities including TV chef Gizzi Erskine and model Daisy Lowe, we join the likes of Apple, Aston Martin and Rolex on the 2013/14 list.”
Annual sales for Saucy Fish Co are expected to reach £35M this year and a US launch is planned.
The firm’s Simon Smith, sales and marketing director, claimed the business was the first to break the mould of dull fish packaging.
“The fish fixture in supermarkets was mainly white, plain packaging, a bit industrial looking. What we have done is bring a distinctive style and contemporary design to people,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
The CoolBrands survey aims to canvass the opinions of experts and consumers to produce a barometer of Britain’s coolest brands, people and places.
“Each brand featured has qualified for inclusion based on the collective opinions of the expert council and more than 2,000 members of the British public,” according to the CoolBrands council.
While achieving success on the short list, no food or drink brand qualified for the Top 20 CoolBrands list itself.
‘Apple, Aston Marton, Rolex’
The top five positions were claimed by Apple, Aston Marton, Rolex, Nike and Glastonbury.
Stephen Cheliotis, CoolBrands council chairman, said luxury brands were improving their ranking in this year’s survey.
"Overall the top 20 saw a definite swing back to luxury brands as the affordable everyday brands slipped back,” said Cheliotis.
“Whether it’s due to strong heritage, product quality or quite simply a correlation with the reviving British economy, this year’s CoolBrands list shows an increasing number of luxury brands are back at the top of the cool list, reversing last year’s trend of affordable everyday luxuries dominating.”
Cheliotis went on to question how long Apple could retain its number one position as competition from its rivals intensified.
Top food brands that have appeared on the top 20 list in the past included ice cream products Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry’s.
Cool brands – the hot 20 shortlist
- Acne (fashion)
- Cambridge Satchel Co (fashion)
- Doom Bar (drinks)
- Farrow & Ball (home decoration)
- Gaucho (restaurants)
- Instagram (social media)
- Lamborghini (cars)
- Le Creuset (home products)
- Jelly Belly (food snacks)
- Mount Gay Rum (drinks)
- Nespresso (home appliances)
- O2 (media, network providers)
- Oyster Yachts (boat makers)
- Porsche (cars)
- Rapha (sportswear)
- S.Pellegrino (drinks)
- Samsung (technology, telecoms)
- The Good Travel Company (travel )
- The Saucy Fish Co (food)
- Zumba (health fitness)
Source: CoolBrands