Happy New Year
Well, this will be my final blog of 2015. Many of us will be taking a well earned break and of course enjoying some seasonal sweet and savoury treats. However, as we take the opportunity to relax, eat, drink and be merry, figures for the pre-Christmas period from IRI’s Retail Advantage, which measures sales for the major grocery multiples in the UK, indicate that festive eating habits may be changing.
While sales of alcohol this year were apparently up, more traditional Christmas fare was proving a turn off, with sales of Christmas cake and puddings down 5.3 per cent and sales of salty snacks down three per cent.
“While consumers get into the spirit of Christmas, literally in many cases, it seems that some of the more traditional Christmas categories are in decline, including cakes and desserts, while Christmas baking items are also down,” says Martin Wood, head of strategic insight, retail solutions and innovation at IRI.
This could be down to people taking a more healthy approach to the big day, but once the final Christmas sales figures are revealed, he believes it is likely that figures will have bounced back.
With the myriad of special offers and multiple deals, it is hard to resist those Christmas favourites. I, for one, have been enjoying them all in moderation. There is plenty of time in January to cut back. However, it will be interesting to see what impact healthier eating trends have had here and wherever you are as we move into a new year. As always, I look forward to hearing your views.
I’ll be back in 2016. Happy New Year!
