Canned fish is now a vibe

When Harrison Weinfeld was growing up, canned fish was his grandpa's go-to snack.

The Holocaust survivor living in New England would layer orange marmalade and sardines on pumpernickel bread. At the time, it seemed like "bunker food" of last resort to Weinfeld, not an appetizing choice.

Now, Weinfeld is 39 and proudly calls himself The Sardinfluencer, making it his mission to help Americans catch up to the quality, sustainable, shelf-stable seafood that the rest of the world has long appreciated.

"Rather than it being a trend that companies are riding, this wave of tinned fish has finally taken its rightful place as something beloved in pantries in the US," he said.

Weinfled, based in LA, is one of hundreds of "tinfluencers" spreading the gospel of sardines, which have taken the American diet by storm in recent years. A quick YouTube search surfaces videos with thousands of likes demonstrating how to make sardine sandwiches, air-fried sardines, and — for some reason — can-fired sardines. To wash it all down, try a sardine martini or "sardini."

Sara Kelly, marketing manager for long-standing tinned fish brand Season, said the drink is one of the wildest ideas she's encountered. "People are getting so creative as to what they're doing with tinned fish," she said.

What started as a quirky pandemic trend has ushered in a sea change in how Americans satisfy their massive appetite for protein and address long-standing tensions around healthy, sustainable eating. Sardines have been rebranded as a sexy, convenient superfood with premium packaging and a price to match.

Americans bought $3.52 billion worth of shelf-stable seafood over the past year, according to data from market research firm Circana. Tuna is the top seller, but sardines have overtaken salmon as the second most popular tinned fish, according to Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics.

"It is one of my favorite examples of how social media fame can drive new households to the category," she said. "Canned fish is appearing in completely new usage occasions. Instead of the tuna sandwich or casserole, we now see sophisticated applications for date night."

While tinned fish — which also includes mussels, mackerel, trout, and so much more — still lags far behind more popular protein sources like chicken and beef, online discourse around tinned fish climbed 30% year over year, particularly among Gen Z and millennials, according to market research firm Tastewise.

Despite creators frequently sprinkling their recipe videos with caveats like "sounds gross; it's not" or "don't knock it 'til you try it," sardines have conquered the country thanks to a perfect storm of healthy-eating obsessions, maritime-chic aesthetics, and a craving for affordable luxury. These stinky little fish are poised to be the It food of the 2020s.

How we got here: from Girl Dinner to Sardinecore

Rebecca Millstein was inspired to launch her popular brand of tinned fish in 2020. While scrolling social media and dreaming of the dinners, parties, and happy hours she couldn't have, she noticed an odd photo posted by a friend: a can of fish from Trader Joe's.

"I was like, that's so interesting and weird," she told me. "There was a sense that something was on the horizon."

Millstein was no stranger to the joys of tinned seafood. Years earlier, she fell in love with seafood tapas while studying abroad in Spain, where elegant, attractive cans of shellfish and sardines were served alongside cheese, wine, and olives. She couldn't find anything in the US that quite captured that vibe, and after a career in marketing, she knew an opportunity when she saw one.

Millstein launched Fishwife, an LA-based seafood company. Among many offerings, it sells sardines — in olive oil with sea salt, preserved lemon, or hot peppers — at $32 for a three-pack of four-ounce cans. The brand's name evokes a slang term for assertive, outspoken women, a cheeky nod to its core audience of millennial women.

In 2024, Fishwife landed a deal on the hit business reality TV show "Shark Tank" that valued it at around $5 million. The tins, decked out in bold, colorfully illustrated packages, can be found in carefully curated boutiques like the Ballerina Farm store or Alison Roman's corner shop in upstate New York, as well as in Whole Foods and Costco nationwide.

Fishwife wasn't the only brand to join the sardine renaissance. Scout Canning launched the same year, followed by a half-dozen other brands from 2021 to 2023. Even outdoor clothing brand Patagonia has a line of tinned fish in grocery stores nationwide.

On the lowest end of the market, you can get a can of 'dines for less than $2 for four ounces. The most expensive sardines sell for $30 or more. Many popular brands fall somewhere in the middle.

The product feels made for social media; trend after trend helped bolster the industry. Girl Dinner, tinned-fish date nights, sardine-girl summer, the Mediterranean diet. Fans got creative with recipes, too: a "sea-cuterie" board, sardine dip, and sardine toast. Wrapping it all is a coastal aesthetic known as sardinecore: think nautical knickknacks, cozy fisherman hats and sweaters, and kitschy fish-print dresses, diningware, and art.

Brands are also getting creative with sardine experiences. The Fantastic World of the Portuguese Sardine in Manhattan is an experiential Mecca for tinned fish, launched in 2023. Last year, Fishwife teamed up with LA ice cream shop Morgensterns to offer sundaes of bourbon vanilla ice cream topped with maple-smoked salmon crispies at one of their many brand partnership events. Photos from Fishwife pop-ups highlight the whimsy of sardinecore culture in bright primary colors and designs that merge nostalgia and chic.

Amid an overwhelmingly digital world fracturing our attention and fraught with AI uncertainty, the humble sardine evokes a return to a simpler, more analog lifestyle. Tinned fish is an increasingly appetizing star in everyday celebrations that feel special but affordable, even when the economy is on the rocks.

"There's no better escape, when the world is stressful, than food," said Tyler Haywood, 42. An influencer who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, he remembers cracking open $2 cans of smoked oysters with his dad, spearing the briny, savory morsels straight from the can with a toothpick. "People love knowing and understanding where it comes from and the story behind what they're eating."

Sitting in front of pantry shelves overflowing with thousands of tinned fish products from around the world, Haywood tells his YouTube and TikTok viewers about the history of brands like Alaska-based Spirit Bear Seafoods and Conservas Angelachu out of Northern Spain. In a January video, he tests smoked sturgeon from Oregon's Josephson's Smokehouse, saying that the "buttery texture and smoky taste" make it worth the $30 price point. Plus, at 70 ounces, it's bigger than your typical grocery store brand.

Haywood said he spends around 30 hours a week planning, shooting, and editing his videos on top of his full time job as a food distributor. Tinned fish is his passion, an escape, and an easy source of sustenance. Best of all, the vibe is only a pulltab away.

"After working 10 to 12 hours a day in one of my jobs," Haywood said,
"I need something I can easily crack open."

A $100 billion nutrient

Nearly everyone I spoke to for this story told me that tinned fish checks all the boxes for shoppers: elevated but easy, affordable but aspirational, healthy without trying too hard. Assuming you have a decent tolerance for fish, they're also delicious.

It's particularly appetizing for Gen Z and millennials, who are ditching vices like drinking and leaning into wellness, said Weinfeld, the Sardinfluencer.

"Living in a world where so much is out of our control, we can control what we put into our bodies," he said. "We can have a say in how we eat and how we treat ourselves."

Weinfeld's tinned fish awakening came in 2007 while working on an Alaskan fishing boat, hauling in thousands of pounds of salmon and experiencing firsthand the labor and the ecosystem that provide our food. In today's hyper-industrialized food system, most people are far removed from what they eat, he said.

And, these days, the thing everyone wants to put in their bodies is protein. The US protein market, including supplements, was valued at $114 billion as of 2024, according to market research firm Mintel, and has continued growing. It's fueled by increased interest in strength training and an emphasis on the longevity-boosting benefits of building muscle, especially in a time when GLP-1s are shrinking waistlines and appetites. Even federal dietary guidance now leans heavily on "real food" sources like beef, dairy, and fish.

A typical four-ounce can of sardines contains 18 to 25 grams of protein — roughly a quarter of your daily need — in fewer than 200 calories, in part because you're eating just what it says on the tin. Canned fish are technically processed, but only lightly, since they contain almost none of the added salt, sugar, and fat in most other packaged foods. That makes the oily little fish a hot commodity in an era when processed food is the enemy.

"People have been eating tinned fish forever. I don't want to point fingers, but people have not been eating protein popcorn forever," Millstein said. "It's super healthy, it's shelf-stable, and there just aren't many other products like that."

The cost per can

All of those benefits can command a premium price, but it's still significantly cheaper than dining out. The price breakdown of tinned fish is complex, according to Chef Charlotte Langley, cofounder and CEO of the brand Nice Cans and an ambassador for the sustainability nonprofit Marine Stewardship Council.

"It's not just about what's in the tin, it's about the entire ecosystem that surrounds the product," she told Business Insider. "There's a big difference from the $2.99 can to the $9.99 can in lots of different ways."

The fish itself varies widely in quality depending on where and how it's caught. Then there's transportation and the package design — tins that double as décor — and suddenly you're not just buying dinner, you're buying a vibe.

Weinfeld, the LA recipe creator, said tinned fish are popular in part because they're the perfect "eye candy" for an Instagram grid or TikTok feed. On Fishwife's social media, Millstein said customers routinely comment that they don't even like seafood but have become hooked on the brand's colorful imagery.

"It's kind of a honey trap," she said. "If it looks that beautiful, it's got to be as tasty on the inside."

Certifications add another layer. Labels like the Marine Stewardship Council signal that a brand meets certain standards, such as supporting the local environment and employees' livelihoods — a priority for many of the Gen Z and millennial consumers driving the craze.

"They don't even need to think. They're making the best choice for people, planet, and the environment. That's my goal, to make it as easy as possible for them to enjoy," Langley said.

Canned sardines, because they're lower on the food chain, are considered a more sustainable option than larger species like tuna. Still, overfishing is a concern. Seafood sustainability can be as deep and unfathomable as the ocean itself, Langley said. MSC-certified products often cost more, and shoppers are paying for the convenience of knowing that each tin considers the ecosystem without needing a marine biology degree.

However, a more expensive tin doesn't necessarily equate to quality or sustainability, Weinfeld said. You could be paying a premium for that aforementioned vibe.

For now, we have yet to crest the current wave of tinned fish hype. As of 2025, just under 50% of US consumers have tried tinned fish, and 9% of Americans who eat fish at home say tinned fish is their most frequent choice, according to Mintel.

Millstein has repeatedly assumed the ceiling was near — only to watch it rise again.

"I think we're not at peak tinned fish. Not even close," she said. "Our entire mission is to get to the point where no one's calling it a trend anymore."