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Ocado reveals Brits’ love affair with all things sweet and savoury

With Thanksgiving fast-approaching, Ocado, the world’s largest online supermarket, reveals just how far American tastes are infiltrating British palates. The popular American food combination of sweet and savoury has been a growing trend amongst Brits in recent years, and through their American Shop, Ocado has seen huge sales uplifts for these food items. Over the past four years*, sales of salted caramel ice-cream are up by over 3500%, sweet and savoury popcorn, over 1500%, and salted caramel confectionery, almost 10,000%.

It’s not just in desserts and snacks that Ocado has seen huge sales uplifts – Brits are also combining sweet and savoury across staple lunch and dinner food items. Maple flavoured meat and fish is up by over 400%, compared to four years ago, and Ocado also reports a sales uplift of just fewer than 400% for sweet and savoury soups.

Says, Artur Lezny, Ocado’s International Food Buyer: “Americans love to combine sweet and savoury flavours, whereas traditionally, Brits have preferred to keep the two separate. Over the last few years, we’ve seen this popular American blend of flavours sweeping our country – salted caramel has gone mainstream and there’s been an explosion of brunch places offering pancakes with bacon and maple syrup.

“We’ve certainly seen more and more Brits embrace sweet and sour food items each year for Thanksgiving with the likes of ‘candied yams’ – but it’s much bigger than that. The nation has jumped on the American sweet/savoury bandwagon and is welcoming this flavour combination onto their plates all year round.”

Ocado’s sales stats fully support the increase in popularity of the traditional American Thanksgiving meal here in Britain. Sales of cranberry sauce, to accompany the turkey – the meat of choice for Thanksgiving dinner, are up by 164% for the last few weeks, compared to the same time period four years ago. Stuffing’s up 221% and ingredients for pumpkin pie, 309%. In the last four weeks searches for key Thanksgiving food items are also on the up – turkey crown by 250%, pumpkin puree, 94% and cranberry sauce, 109%.

*When comparing YTD 2011 to YTD 2015.

Notes to editors

For more information, please contact: OcadoPR@Creation.io

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Sweets for my sweet, savoury for my honey