FRESH BEEF AND PORK CARRY CHRISTMAS MOMENTUM INTO JANUARY

Fresh beef and fresh pork continued a strong run of volume growth in the four weeks to January 24, 2021 – registering volume increases of 23.2% and 25.8% respectively – according to new data from Kanter.

This resulted in widespread growth in fresh meat and poultry, up 19% overall in January – even in the context of meat-free lines also having an annual boost from Veganuary. 

Some 382,000 more UK households bought into meat-free products in the last four weeks compared with last year, but familiar favourites in meat such as burgers and grills (up 30.7%) have seen growth rates rise again as lockdown once again came into force, with households cooking more meals at home. 

Andy Crossan, Strategic Insight Director at Kantar said: “Burgers have been a consistent winner when we’ve been under the toughest of restrictions.

“Consumers looking for easy to replicate out-of-home experiences, as well as families looking for easy meals while working from home and home-schooling will be key drivers of growth. 

“Small households played a key role in the growth of roasting meats over Christmas, but this has become more balanced now – with households with three or more people contributing just as much to volume growth in fresh red meat as those containing one or two people.” 

Momentum from December also carried through for chilled smoked fish which grew 15.9% in volume, but overall market growth for chilled fish was relatively modest in comparison to meat and poultry and meat-free, up 7.7%.

Meat sales by type

For the 12 weeks to January 24, meat sales were up 17.1% year-on-year.

Key highlights included:

Fresh beef (volume)                +18.9%
Fresh lamb (volume)              +14.2%
Fresh pork (volume)               +17.8%
Fresh chicken (volume)          +14.7%
Fresh turkey (volume)            +3.5%
Chilled fish (volume)              +11.5%

Fresh beef (value)                   +18.9%
Fresh lamb (value)                  +20.3%
Fresh pork (value)                  +22.2%
Fresh chicken (value)             +15.5%
Fresh turkey (value)                +5.9%
Chilled fish (value)                 +16.3%

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