NIQ data shows that over the last 12 months, British consumers did more scratch cooking, with sales of fresh meat (+£481.3m), fresh fruit (+£463.5m), fresh vegetables (+£374m), fresh salad (+£285.3m) and fresh poultry (+£247.6m) all among the top 10 fastest growing categories. 

And in a further sign that more meals are being freshly prepared, dried herbs and spices enjoyed the biggest volume percentage gains out of all the 127 categories in this year’s report.

Rachel White, Managing Director UK & Ireland at NIQ, said: “Shopping habits have changed once again. What we are seeing in this year’s survey is a return to scratch cooking and the preparation of fresh meals. Perhaps this is a nod to trends in healthier living – with consumers taking the time to prepare meals together, sourcing fresh and healthy products and consuming less alcohol – but it’s also a product of the cost of living crisis, as shoppers cut back on takeaways and eating out to save money.”

And in what can only be interpreted as a boost to the Housewares industry, the data shows that sales of beef  (+£242.1m) and chicken (+£212m) were among the most popular and fastest growing products in British supermarket baskets in 2024, but lamb and duck also enjoyed strong growth.

But the meat-free category (-£37.1m) continues to decline, dipping below £500m in value. Market leader Quorn (-£16.5m) was the biggest casualty, although some brands are still in growth.

A less obvious casualty is chocolate confectionery (+£532.6m), which actually recorded the biggest increase in value sales across the Top Products Survey. But volumes fell and most of the value gains reflect price hikes linked to soaring cocoa commodity prices, as cocoa beans futures reached an all-time high of $12,000/tonne earlier this year. It was a similar story for Cadbury Dairy Milk (+£72.4m), where the leading chocolate brand’s strong value sales again masked lower volumes.

The cost of living crisis is likely also to blame for the decline in sales in many alcoholic drinks categories, although the government’s duty hikes have also played a part. Spirits (-£52.6m), sparkling wine (-£19.9m) and champagne (-£12.1m) all fared badly. And alcohol brands accounted for 50% of the top 10 fastest falling products, including lager brands Foster’s (-£34m) and Carling (-£22.2m) as well as the UK’s leading gin brand Gordon’s (-£21.4m).