Meat, fish and poultry (MFP) sales were up 1.3% last Easter but it was lamb that saw the biggest gain with sales up 13.7% (Kantar data).
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) had predicted a bumper Easter for lamb – and they were not wrong.
Kantar data revealed that lamb was almost three times more likely to be purchased compared to an average two-week period for the year.
“An Easter roast remains a popular choice for the big Easter meal, and this strong lamb performance was driven mainly by roasting joints, as volumes purchased increased by 24.1% year-on-year and accounted for almost three quarters of all lamb sold (2w/e 31 March 2024),” says Charlotte Forkes-Rees, retail and consumer insight analyst at AHDB.
“Roast lamb benefited, as a significant number of consumers swapped into the category from all other main cuts and proteins, including those much cheaper, such as chicken wings, legs and thighs. As a result, lamb roasting gained almost 300,000 new shoppers compared with Easter 2023. It is therefore clear that shoppers value the tradition of Easter and its association with lamb, and are willing to treat themselves on special occasions, despite financial pressures.”
And it wasn’t just lamb roasting joints that saw good performance last year, as from an MFP perspective, total roasting saw the largest year-on-year increase in volumes purchased out of all cuts, up 23.5% (Kantar, 2w/e 31 March 2024).
While lamb was very much the star at Easter 2024, beef purchases also saw a 4.1% uplift. Pork was the only red meat to see a dip in performance.
Sales of barbecue products were also hindered, thanks to Easter falling early last year, with the unsettled weather making most people move their celebrations inside.
ADHB says butchers saw almost a fifth less sales of red meat than Easter 2023 (Kantar, 2w/e 31 March 2024).
Forkes-Rees comments: “In recent years, where price has been at the forefront of shopper minds, the inability for butchers to compete on price with supermarkets has likely contributed for this drop in demand.”
She adds that during Easter 2024, butchers charged on average £1.65/kg more than the total market for red meat, and their promotions tended to be limited and less well publicised than other retailers.
“Butchers should publicise the credentials of their meat, and their expertise to remind consumers why they should shop with butchers. Of those who have shopped at a butcher, 68% say they choose to buy meat from a butcher because of the quality, followed by wanting to support local businesses (60%) (AHDB/YouGov, Nov 2023).”
Meanwhile, supermarkets adopted strong promotional activity with temporary price reductions, particularly around key cuts, such as roasting joints, last Easter. This resulted in almost all retail channels seeing volume growth for red meat when sold on promotion.
