Tinned fish – dubbed “hot girl food” by social-media users – is officially one of the internet’s favourite foods.
The New York Times attributes its popularity to TikTok, where both #girldinner and #tinnedfishdatenight have taken off (the latter hashtag attracting over 24 billion views).
Then there’s Fishwife, a tinned fish company co-founded by the extremely online former late-night-TV writer Caroline Garfarb (also the brains behind @officialseanpenn, an Instagram account with a devoted following of pop-culture fanatics). It’s also become something of a social-media phenomenon, with its intricate, brightly coloured graphic design.
In fact, Garfarb helped set off tinned-fish mania with her Hot Girls Eat Tinned Fish merch, fish memes and collaborations with buzzy food-world brands like Fly by Jing and designers like Susan Alexandra,.
With tinned fish becoming commonplace at wine bars, restaurants, gourmet grocers and even gift stores, it was only a matter of time before an Aussie company jumped on the trend. Enter Little Tin Co, a South Australian company founded by Dan and Rachel Weeks that produces sustainably caught artisan canned seafood in Australia.
The founders started their company after noticing a growing local appetite for tinned fish, but a lack of Aussie brands entering the space.
“With overseas craft-cannery brands now more available in Australia, consumers have had the opportunity to sample tinned fish that’s really a cut above the cheaper
pantry staples found in the supermarket aisles,” Rachel tells Broadsheet
She says the duo was inspired by overseas companies, including Fishwife, Patagonia Provisions, Ortiz and Jose Gourmet, that “produce delicious, sustainably produced seafood packaged in beautiful artwork”.
Little Tin Co’s three products – sardines in oil, smoky mussels in whisky and hot-smoked kingfish with vermouth pate – are all made from Australian seafood and canned locally, with packaging that features nautical artwork by Aussie painter Ingrid Mangan.
The products are available online or at select stockists across the country or you can try it on the menu at Wildflower in Marrickville or at South Australian cellar doors including Anderson Hill Wines, Angove Family Winemakers, Bremerton Cellar Door and The Joinery Wine Room.
Here's where to find Little Tin Co across Australia.
South Australia: House of Health Collective (Adelaide Central Market & Norwood), Angler, Bremerton Cellar Door Regional Pantry, Coffin Bay Post Office, Emu Bay Lavender Farm, Fair Fish, Hahndorf Fruit & Veg, Local Kitchen Co, Mount Barker Fresh Market, Octopus's Garden, Organic Market & Cafe Stirling, Raw Bulk Wholefoods (Victor Harbor), Sevenhill Cellars, The Fresh Fish Place, Wilmotts Gastronomia & Victor Harbour Visitor Centre
New South Wales: Florence Jones, Il Topolino Alimentari & P&V Newtown
Queensland: The Cheeseboard
Western Australia: 34 Degrees Blue, Bob and Jim's General Store & Dirty Clean Food
Victoria: Blackhearts & Sparrows (Richmond, Collingwood, Brunswick, Fitzroy North, Abbotsford & Geelong locations),
Skinner & Hackett, Locavore Studio & Winespeake
