John West is about to massively bolster its presence in the chilled fish category with the launch of two first-to-market ranges one of which was inspired by Heston Blumenthal.

John West Infusions, a four-strong range of raw ­infused salmon fillets, and John West Additions, a four-strong range of hot smoked salmon strips, will start going into the mults from 25 May. Listings have already been confirmed with The Co-operative.

Infusions was inspired by the molecular gastronomy of Blumenthal, said Geoff Cormack, MD of Morpol, the global salmon processor that has developed the range and will produce it under licence from John West.

It would bring cutting-edge cooking techniques to the masses, he added. “You don’t have to go to the Fat Duck to try these products you can eat them at home,” he said. “It’s really taking molecular and making it a little more accessible and affordable.”

With Additions, John West hoped to emulate the success of hot smoked mackerel strips, he added.

“We felt there should be a similar product on the salmon side at an accessible price point,” he said. The new range would add interest to the smoked fish category, he predicted.

Both ranges had been ­developed to give shoppers a reason to keep buying salmon in the face of rocketing prices, Cormack said. “We’ve got to add some ­value in an effort to recoup the margin because of the high raw material prices.”

The Infusions range (rsp: £3.50 for 220g) can be microwaved or oven-baked and comes in ginger, chilli & lime; red Thai; tikka; and maple & soy flavours. Additions (rsp: £3/two 110g fillets) comes in natural; ginger, chilli & lime; tomato & basil; and crushed black pepper variants.

The extension of the John West brand follows the brand’s first leap from ambient into cold smoked salmon in 2002.

Although it is currently only listed by Sainsbury’s and The Co-operative, it is the biggest smoked salmon brand by value, according to Morpol.

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