Marmalade sales soaring – thanks to Paddington!

SaleS of Seville oranges have gone through the roof as marmalade season gets into full swing — and one supermarket credits the popularity of the recent film about Paddington Bear.

a spokesman for Waitrose, the only British supermarket to stock organic Seville oranges, says it believes the children’s film about the marmalade sandwich-mad bear from Peru is behind this year’s spike in sales.

The spokesman adds: ‘Sales of the oranges have gone up by 20 per cent compared with this time last year, which suggests more people are picking up their jam pans and thermometers to create their own marmalade.’

He says there’s also been a 282 per cent increase in people downloading the Waitrose Quick and easy Seville Marmalade recipe.

Seville oranges have a very short season, from mid- January to mid-February. earlier this week stars at the Bafta ceremony at london’s Grosvenor House Hotel drank seasonal bourbon and orange- based ‘Marmhattan’ cocktails made with marmalade.

Tim Stevens, fresh fruit buyer at Waitrose, says: ‘ Seville oranges are beautifully sharp.

‘Our organic Seville oranges are grown without the use of pesticides, which means their rind is ideal for thick-cut marmalade. It’s great news that more people than ever are discovering the joys of making marmalade at home — perhaps it is the influence of Paddington Bear.’

News of the Seville oranges boom comes after a report in industry mag The Grocer showed that British shoppers were falling out of love with marmalade, as consumers turned to nut butters and chocolate spreads instead.

But the release of Paddington shortly before Christmas has now provided a boost for one brand — Golden Shred said sales of its marmalade surged 24 per cent after the film came out.

Waitrose, which reports a 24 per cent rise in preserving sugar as well, is selling a 1kg box of organic Seville oranges (pictured) for £2.49 until the end of this month.