Supermarket chains operating in Britain continue to stock more veal, venison and fowl, as shoppers opt for Christmas dishes other than the traditional turkey, theguardian.com reports.
Goose, duck and guinea fowl have continued to grow in popularity year-on-year, statistics show, and shoppers, when they purchase turkey, choose turkeys of smaller weights (the average sold by Sainsbury’s has gone down from seven kilogrammes to six kilogrammes over the last few years.)
Sainsbury’s has furthermore confirmed that its venison and veal sales are up by 115 per cent on this period of 2014. In terms of volume, the retailer has stocked 40 per cent more veal to accommodate this surge in demand.
The company’s head of food, Susi Richards, said “Over the last year we’ve been working with our trusted suppliers to bring more top quality game and veal to our customers in response to their huge popularity.
“It used to be that these sorts of meats were only ordered in restaurants. Now, for a special occasion like Christmas, people want to recreate the experience at home. Venison and veal are high protein and low in fat, making them great choices for nourishing the family throughout the festive season, which is much more than just Christmas Day itself.”
Tesco has observed a similar shift in taste, noting that sales of fowl have gone up by 20 per cent over the course of the last three years.
Kieran Gilmore, its poultry buyer, said, “With the growing popularity of TV cooking shows we are finding that more people than ever before are looking to jazz up their festive feasts. While turkey remains as popular as ever, it’s guinea fowl, goose and duck that have been growing the most in popularity with Christmas shoppers.”
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
