Marshmallow egg the top Kiwi treat

Kiwis are on track to devour carloads of chocolate this Easter, with marshmallow eggs taking the top spot as our favourite sweet treat.

Countdown estimates it is selling the equivalent of 23,200 chilly bins full of chocolate eggs, 135 Toyota Corollas’ worth of marshmallow eggs and a record number of hot cross buns this year.

At Foodstuffs, which owns Pak‘nSave, New World and Four Square stores, Easter weekend was also a huge driver of alcohol sales.

The long weekend came second only to Christmas when it came to the sale of beer and wine.

Marshmallow eggs were Kiwis’ favourite Easter egg, according to both Countdown and Foodstuffs.

“Our shoppers are marshmallow lovers,” said Foodstuffs spokeswoman Catherine Reiss. “The top two sellers for Easter week are likely to be the 10-pack and the eightpack of Cadbury foil-wrapped marshmallow eggs. “In the North Island alone, Foodstuffs will sell more than 68,000 packets of them in the week leading up to Easter.” Countdown’s merchandise manager Chris Fisher also named the marshmallow egg as Kiwis’ favourite based on sales figures. Hot cross buns have been on the shelves since January with one million sold in that first month alone. Fisher said Easter treats were on people’s minds well before the holiday itself began. “Kiwis’ love affair with hot cross buns seems to start as soon as they finish their mince pies and pavlovas from Christmas,” he said. “Traditional fruit hot cross buns are still our most popular flavour, making up 50 per cent of our sales.”