Great British Bake Off sends bakeware sales soaring
Posted on in Creative News
The latest analysis from FMCG market measurement and shopper insight consultancy firm IRI show sales of baking products have risen by 62% since 2007. This increase amounts to more than £219m.
IRI says the sales increase is primarily driven by families that are keen to get back into the kitchen and cook for themselves. Despite a steady rise year on year it is also clear that TV programmes such as The Great British Bake Off have helped to boost the trend by providing encouragement, ideas and recipes for people to follow alongside their entertainment factor.
Tim Eales, director of strategic Insight at IRI, said: "Since the beginning of 2014 we have tracked a decline in the sales of home baking products that is in line with the whole FMCG sector. However there are clear signs of a link between sales of some home baking categories and the TV show The Great British Bake Off. Even while shoppers continue to cut back on how much they buy from the major supermarkets, they can't seem to resist the lure of baking goods at the start of the new TV series. We expect this upward trend to continue over the Autumn and Winter months as key events such as Halloween, Christmas, Pancake Day and then Easter all whisk shoppers into another baking frenzy."
Sainsbury's has seen sales of bakeware overall rise by a massive 200%, while rolling pins and cookie cutters are up 22% week on week. Cooks Collection bakeware is up 53%, and within Sainsbury's exclusive Mary Berry collection of bakeware, the Time for Tea Bell is the range's best seller.
"There is clear evidence that our shoppers are immediately inspired when watching cookery shows like The Great British Bake Off," says Susi Richards, head of own brand product development at Sainsbury's. "We have seen that sales of our kitchen equipment and bakery goods peak online between 7 and 9pm on a Wednesday, directly around the time the GBBO airs."
Waitrose has also logged increases in baking equipment sales since the new series launched. For example, piping bags have seen a 14% rise, and one of the surprise stars of episode one was a simple ice-cream scoop, which was used to craft consistent bite-size bakes: sales jumped 10%.
Demand for cake tins has leapt 22% while sandwich tins are up 31%.