Sausage rolls have been flying out the doors of cafés and bakeries, with Kantar* data suggesting that this growth is due to strong value for money offerings and the increasing demand for snacks and convenient on-the-go meals. Similarly, restaurants that offer a more leisurely dining experience, are also seeing a surge in growth, due to an uptick in people getting together socially at mealtimes.

British consumers clearly don't see rising prices as the wurst thing in the world when it comes to their snacking, as despite a 6.6% price increase, pork dishes saw an 8.3% year-on-year increase in volume for bakery channels. Popularity in the snacking market is highly beneficial for the pork sector, making up a total of 42.5% of total pork dish volume sales. Sandwiches and savoury pastries, like sausage rolls and bacon butties, are the key dishes driving this performance.

According to Kantar, fast food outlets and quick service restaurants are losing share, fuelled by growing health consciousness among consumers, and a sharp price hike of 9.4%. While beef is typically associated with whopping sales in this sector, due to its strong presence in fast food meals (70.3% of all quick service restaurant burger meals), beef burgers lost share last year, and instead lamb gained momentum.

Fast food retailers now account for 67.9% of total lamb dish volume, underlining the channel's importance for the flavoursome protein. This boost was particularly seen for kebabs, which had a 20.2% year-on-year volume increase.

Sales growth for sit down restaurants also benefits the lamb sector and accounted for 15.8% of total out-of-home lamb volumes in 2024. Meat-centred hearty meals and Indian cuisine were the main contributors and total spend for lamb dishes increased by 10.1% last year.

AHDB Retail and Consumer Insight Analyst, Elisya Zain, said: "It's great to see a strong performance from red meat in the eating out market. Convenience and value for money are increasingly important to consumers; therefore, ensuring red meat products remain prominent for on-the-go and snack opportunities is crucial.

"Consumers are also looking to treat themselves now more than ever when dining out, so it's essential for red meat dishes to communicate quality and exclusivity. AHDB research has shown that quality cues for red meat on menus are beneficial, such as signalling British or local sourcing, while foodie images and detailed dish descriptions reinforce taste perceptions."

To read the full AHDB article, visit: https://ahdb.org.uk/consumer-insight-convenience-meals-and-premium-products-boost-out-of-home-market

For further analysis of beef, lamb and pork performance, visit the AHDB Foodservice Dashboards: https://ahdb.org.uk/consumer-insight-foodservice-data

*All data in this release is taken from Kantar, 52 w/e 29 December 2024