Bake Off ’s return serves up rising sales of cookery equipment
THE Great British Bake Off returns to TV screens next week and consumers are already snapping up baking tools and equipment in anticipation, according to retailers.
Since its debut in 2010, the show has energised home baking sales in the UK and has inspired the “Bake Off effect”, whereby shoppers stock up in advance of a new series. John Lewis said it had already seen a “huge spike” in sales of baking equipment as customers limber up to replicate bakes seen on the show.
Sales of baking tools such as spoons and spatulas are up 50pc and 42pc, respectively, over the past week, while Paul Hollywood cookie cutters are up 50pc, and sales of cookbooks and cake stands have risen 18pc, the retailer said.
Purchases of some cupcake kits are up 225pc, perhaps given episode one of Bake Off is, as always, cake week. Cupcake toppers are up 19pc week on week. Bake Off, which attracted more than 14 million viewers for its final episode last year, has inspired thousands of consumers to jump on the baking bandwagon. In fact, between 2009 and 2014, annual baking sales rose from £523m to £1.7bn, according to figures from Mintel, largely because of the popularity of cooking shows.
Separate research from Mintel found that 33pc of Britons say TV shows such as Bake Off and the Great British Sewing Bee inspire them to try out new hobbies. In 2015, sales of baking trays at Waitrose soared by a remarkable 881pc in the run-up to the first episode of Bake Off airing on TV.
And sales of almonds, which featured several times throughout the series, increased by more than 76pc at the supermarket, while pine and Brazil nuts saw a rise in sales of 302pc and 43pc respectively.
In 2014, the online grocer Ocado reported a 300pc increase in demand for brown sugar during Bake Off’s nineweek run.