Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Sales figures from Waitrose & Partners show customers embraced Dry January and Veganuary last month – and are continuing to stick to these popular New Year’s resolutions.
Sales of no and low alcohol wines, beers and spirits have seen a 102% uplift in the first week in February compared with last year. No and low alcohol beer has proved to be the most popular choice, with sales up 209% compared to last year.
The supermarket chain’s no and low alcohol buyer Alex Valentine commented: “Over the last year we’ve seen the no and low category growing from strength to strength. We are pleased our shoppers have a fantastic variety of products to choose from and if we can support people with continuing their resolutions we are happy to help!”
The popularity of Veganuary also seems to have carried on into February, with sales of vegan food up 13% compared with last year. Mushrooms have been one of the most popular choices of vegan cooking with specific products such as Waitrose & Partners Vegan BBQ Mushrooms with Sticky Rice selling double what was expected.
Jane Shaw, mushroom buyer at Waitrose & Partners, said: “As customers look to be more experimental and add interest and additional flavours to their vegan dishes, we’ve seen sales of our exotic mushrooms rise 16% compared to last year. We’re also seeing more shoppers opting for chestnut mushrooms, with sales up 7%.”
Online shoppers are also looking for more exotic mushrooms on Waitrose.com, with an increase in searches for Shiitake mushrooms (+49%) oyster mushrooms (+61%) and exotic mushrooms (+193%).
Waitrose & Partners Vegan Sweet Potato Katsu Curry with Sticky Rice
