Shoppers give a fig for Christmas puddings again

TRADITIONAL Christmas puddings have made a big comeback, according to a report.

Sales surged over the festive period, marking a turning point for the traditional dessert after years of decline, the research shows.

High street shoppers bought about one million more puddings this Christmas than in 2021, a rise of 2.7 per cent year on year, according to data analysts Kantar.

With inflation continuing to push up the price of food and drink, overall value sales for the festive dessert rose from £42million in 2021 to £45million last year, an increase of 7.3 per cent.

The rise represents a remarkable comeback, as sales had fallen by nearly 30 per cent (£11.2million) between 2017 and 2021.

The decline prompted some to question whether the festive pudding was slowly falling out of fashion – however, this no longer seems to be the case.

The Grocery Gazette, a newspaper for the food retail industry, said the category had benefited from new twists on the traditional recipe, with products on shelves including German discounter Aldi’s firecracker pudding, which is infused with an orange and chilli-flavoured sauce, and a Caramelised Biscuit Christmas Pudding from Big Four grocer Sainsbury’s.

In contrast to the boom in puddings, mince pie sales declined last year, with six million fewer packs sold than in 2021, representing a 6.2 per cent decline.

Price rises made up for the decline in volume, however, as sales were up by 12.4 per cent year on year, from £118 million in 2021 to £132 million.

Kirstie Jamieson, UK marketing director at Valeo Foods, owner of the Matthew Walker Christmas pudding brand, said: “Far from falling out of favour, Christmas puddings are still very much part of the festivities and are the main dessert served on the day.”

Fraser Mckevitt, Kantar’s head of retail and consumer insight, said: “Monthly grocery sales were a whopping £1.1billion higher in December versus last year, breaching the £12billion mark for the first time.

“Value sales are up significantly but grocery price inflation is the real driving factor behind this, rather than increased purchasing.”