Sales and online search data from Waitrose suggests that an increasing number of households in the UK are celebrating Thanksgiving, a traditional November holiday event in the US. Although turkey has traditionally taken a leading role in the celebrations, this year side dishes are proving popular as people merge British and American cuisines.
The supermarket revealed that sales of Thanksgiving products are up 12% year-on-year, with turkey sales growing 6% for the same period.
Demand for American side dishes also increased, with searches for sweet potato mash and mac and cheese up 90% and 45% respectively month-on-month, searches for pumpkin pie up over 60% in the last month, and cranberry jelly up 38% in the same period.
Meanwhile, Autumnal cocktails look set to feature on Thanksgiving tables, with searches for Warm spiced apple punch up 83% and Hot gin punch searches seeing an increase of 116%.
A spokesperson for Waitrose said: “We predict Thanksgiving will be more popular than ever this year, as the 25th November marks the start of festive family celebrations. A traditional Thanksgiving meal includes side dishes not normally served together, harking back to the days of ‘pot luck’ dinners, where guests were all invited to bring a dish, often resulting in an unusual mix of sweet and savoury flavours.
“Home cooks are becoming more adventurous and this is the perfect opportunity to treat friends and family to splendid side dishes.”
NAM Implications:
- Serious?
- After two years Lockdown, everyone needs any excuse for celebration…
- Best plan for Thanksgiving becoming a permanent feature of the UK calender.
- A pointer for all?
