What we ate last year (and what's hot in 2014)
Coconut, edible glitter, gin and almond milk – that’s what we ate and drank last year, according to a new report.
British is best
Waitrose tallied up its annual sales to produce the report, which indicated a healthy rise in the number of people ‘buying British’. Sales of home-grown apples, strawberries and watercress increased over the year by 12.1%, 8.3% and 26% respectively.
Plus Duchy Originals from Waitrose beef sales were up 52% and Hereford beef sales more than doubled – a silver lining to January’s horsemeat scandal. Heather Jenkins, Waitrose Agriculture Director, said of the trend: “What we ate in 2013 was shaped by a clear focus on provenance. As the spotlight shone on the relationship between supplier and retailer, the public wanted to know more about where their food comes from.”
Baking and Blue Diamond
Brits went baking mad last year, especially for bread – bread mix sales increased by 40% (not exactly ‘proper’ bread-making, but a step closer nonetheless); strong flour sales jumped by 14%; and yeast sales rose (pardon the pun) by a staggering 43%. Perhaps The Great British Bake Off was behind the rising trend, or maybe people took note of the Real Bread Campaign in 2013? Meanwhile, the most popular cake decorations were edible glitter and marshmallows.
Coconut made it big last year, too – sales of coconut oil and coconut water grew by nearly 200% each, and searches on waitrose.com for ‘coconut recipes’ increased by 164%! But the biggest success came in the shape of Blue Diamond Almond Milk. Its sales soared by an unbelievable 399%, while Alpro Hazelnut Milk sales rose by 62%. An increasing awareness of the negative environmental impacts of soy products could explain why more people are buying almond milk instead of their usual soya milk.
The year of the BBQ
July’s heatwave meant barbecues and al fresco eating, as sales of BBQ meats rose by 169% and ice cream was up by 300%. Sales of Pimm’s were double that of summer 2012, and halloumi – another great barbecue staple – impressed with a sales increase of 32%.
As for booze, we Brits fell in love with gin again in 2013, with sales increasing by 12%. Chardonnay sales were also up by 16%, and UK craft brewers BrewDog and Innis & Gunn saw their sales from Waitrose stores double.
Other good performers included mincemeat, sausage rolls, sushi, salted caramel, black food colouring, and kale.
Food trends for 2014
But enough about 2013… what’s going to happen this year? Jonathan Moore, Waitrose Executive Chief, has some ideas: “In the last decade we looked east to Asia for inspiration. But in 2014, British foodies will turn their attention westwards, to Peru, Mexico and Brazil – especially as the latter hosts the football World Cup. Unfamiliar fruit, vegetables and spices will come to our attention and ceviche (fish cured with citrus) will become the new sushi.”
As for Gordon McDermott, Course Manager at Waitrose Cookery School, he thinks we’ll all be making everything from scratch: “Home baking will be bigger than ever in 2014, but as well as bread and cakes, food-lovers will master the comparatively unknown skill of cheese-making. Along with our own bread and chutney we’ll be proud to serve up a wedge of home-made halloumi or feta.”
And finally, Kathryn Keohane, Waitrose Innovations Manager, predicts: “Entertaining will be synonymous with theatre and fun. Marshmallows and candyfloss will feature on menus and foodies will seek out the next generation fondue.”
What do you think will be in fashion this year? And what food trend of 2013 will you miss? Talk to us in the Comments box below
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