Norwegian football star Erling Haaland is proving that he can score for his home country even when he is not on the football pitch. This time, he is helping sell Norwegian salmon to consumers in China and other international markets.
The Manchester City striker has been the face of the Norwegian Seafood Council’s international marketing campaign, appearing both in advertisements enjoying salmon himself and as life-size cardboard figures greeting shoppers at seafood counters in hundreds of Chinese supermarkets.
The unlikely combination of football and seafood has now produced measurable results. According to figures released by the Norwegian Seafood Council on 11 November 2026, consumer recognition of the Seafood from Norway brand in China increased from 55 to 75 percent following its World Cup marketing campaign.
The campaign, launched in Shanghai on 3 June, placed Haaland’s image in hundreds of supermarkets across China, while social media promotions encouraged consumers to associate Norwegian salmon with the Manchester City striker’s sporting success and healthy diet.
Chinese consumers embraced the campaign with enthusiasm. Photographs of Haaland standing beside supermarket salmon counters circulated on social media, accompanied by jokes and memes about the football star’s unexpected role as a fish salesman.
By early July, the campaign had reached more than 950 stores, while its hashtag on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu had attracted nearly 700,000 impressions.
Norwegian salmon exports to China also increased significantly. In June, Norway exported 10,889 tonnes of salmon to China, an increase of 31 percent compared with the same month in 2025.
However, the Seafood Council has not established how much of that growth can be attributed directly to Haaland’s advertising.
Sigmund Bjørgo, the Council’s Country Director in China, said the campaign had strengthened perceptions of Norwegian salmon as a premium product particularly suitable for sashimi, a popular way of consuming raw salmon in China.
He also reported increased purchase intentions among higher-income consumers and shoppers prepared to pay more for premium seafood.
The campaign achieved positive results in the United States as well, where the proportion of consumers associating the advertising with Norway or Seafood from Norway increased from 16 percent in 2024 to 59 percent in 2026.
Results were less encouraging in Germany, where advertising attracted attention but had a weaker impact on consumer preference and purchasing intentions.
Haaland became an ambassador for Norwegian seafood in 2024. Earlier this year, the Norwegian Seafood Council extended the partnership until autumn 2028.
