Hordes of consumers are buying less-traditional meats this Christmas, with venison, lamb and pork replacing turkey on many festive household menus, says the grocer Waitrose.
The supermarket, owned by the John Lewis Partnership, provided its insight into the UK’s changing taste buds, as it posted another set of sizzling pre-Christmas sales.
Mark Williamson, Waitrose’s commercial director, said: “Many shoppers are also opting for less-traditional meats for their Christmas dinner tables, with pre-orders of venison up 42%, lamb by 57% and pork by 29%.” But he added turkey orders are also up by 24% and sales of “ready-prepared turkeys, which come complete with trimmings” jumped by a whopping 134%, proving there is still plenty of life left in the Christmas stalwart.
Waitrose grew its sales by 6.6% to £113.2 million over the week to November 17. Sales were up by 8% over the 12 weeks to October 28, according to Kantar Worldpanel.
