New data suggests there was more Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef on Christmas plates this year as some consumers moved away from traditional turkey.
This month’s Hybu Cig Cymru-Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) Market Bulletin concentrates on new data from consumer experts Kantar that suggests both beef and lamb, which featured in pre-Christmas promotions from HCC, performed well at retail during the festive season.
“The data suggests more shoppers, mindful of inflationary pressures, moved away from fresh turkey this year,” said Glesni Phillips, Market Bulletin author and HCC’s Intelligence Analysis and Business Insight Executive. “Lamb roast products won some of these converted consumers, resulting in an additional £978,000 spend.”
The volume of lamb leg roasting joints sold during the 12-week period rose by over 30 per cent on year-earlier levels, while the number of buyers increased by 24 per cent.
“As a result, the total volume of lamb leg roasting joints sold in 2023 is up some 14 per cent on year-earlier levels and accounts for 43 per cent of the volume of lamb sold at retail,” said Glesni.
Looking ahead, she said: “Lower inflation may lead consumers to revert back to “more normal behaviour” however supply on the domestic market will remain tight compared to historic levels and upcoming religious events will also boost demand for lamb, although an early Easter this year is not as helpful for our producers”.
Market Bulletin reports that during the 12 weeks to 24th December 2023, the volume of lamb sold totalled 16,100 tonnes – a notable 15 per cent increase on year-earlier levels. The average price at retail did experience a small two per cent decline – to an average of £11.30/kg – which may have encouraged more consumers to buy into the category this year. As a result, total spend increased by 13 per cent on the year to stand at £182 million.
Beef at retail in GB during the same 12 weeks saw total spend climb almost 6 per cent on year-earlier levels to £636 million. This increase in spend was mostly driven by a 7 per cent increase in the average price to £9.57/kg, as total volume sold was down slightly by 1.5 per cent on the year.
Glesni said volume sales of mince were “down 1.5 per cent on the year– likely due to a 16 per cent increase in average price – however mince sales continue to account for over 50 per cent of total volume of beef sold.
“Volume sales of steaks were similar to year-earlier levels, however roasting joints experienced a notable increase of 8 per cent on the year in volume terms.”
She said the Kantar data revealed that total take-home grocery sales at GB retail hit a record level of £13.8 billion during the 4-weeks to 24th December – which is a notable 7 per cent increase on the year. “This came as a result of increased number of trips which drove volume growth, combined with grocery inflation standing at 6.7 per cent, which would have driven much of the market growth,” said Glesni.
