This year’s Top Products Survey by The Grocer and NIQ highlights several key trends that affected spending in the UK grocery sector. These include a return to scratch cooking, higher sales of fresh meat as demand for plant-based alternatives continues to decline, and falling consumption of alcohol as people look to save money and adopt healthier lifestyles.
Over the last 12 months, the shift to more scratch cooking meant fresh meat (+£481.3m), fresh fruit (+£463.5m), fresh vegetables (+£374m), fresh salad (+£285.3m) and fresh poultry (+£247.6m) were all among the top 10 fastest growing categories. As a further sign that more meals are being freshly prepared, dried herbs and spices saw the biggest volume percentage gains out of all the 127 categories in this year’s report.
Sales of beef (+£242.1m) and chicken (+£212m) were among the most popular and fastest-growing products in British supermarket baskets in 2024, but lamb and duck also enjoyed strong growth. In contrast, the meat-free category (-£37.1m) continued to decline, dipping below £500m in value. Market leader Quorn (-£16.5m) was the biggest casualty, although some brands are still in growth.
Meanwhile, the NIQ data shows that shoppers have cut back on some dairy products, with milk (-£223.3m) and butter, spreads & margarine (-£63.7m) among the fastest falling categories, partly due to high inflation in these categories over the past two years.
With inflation now largely under control in grocery retail, the reintroduction of branded promotions has helped stem the slump in overall branded volumes. However, inflation is still having a material impact on the market.
A less obvious casualty is chocolate confectionery (+£532.6m), which actually recorded the biggest increase in value sales across the Top Products Survey. But volumes fell, and most of the value gains reflect price hikes linked to soaring cocoa commodity prices. It was a similar story for Cadbury Dairy Milk (+£72.4m), where the brand’s strong value sales again masked lower volumes.
The report noted that the cost of living crisis is also likely to blame for some of the decline in sales in many alcoholic drinks categories, although the government’s duty hikes have also played a part. Spirits (-£52.6m), sparkling wine (-£19.9m) and champagne (-£12.1m) all fared badly. And alcohol brands accounted for 50% of the top 10 fastest falling products, including lager brands Foster’s (-£34m) and Carling (-£22.2m) as well as gin brand Gordon’s (-£21.4m).
Sales of wine (+£242.4m) performed better, although Hardys (-£41m) and Blossom Hill (-£22.7m) were some of the biggest losers overall in terms of value sales.
It was a different story in energy drinks, where Monster (+£103.6m) and Red Bull (+£84.7m) were the strongest-performing brands in terms of value sales. But after enjoying stratospheric growth following its social-media-fueled launch, sales of Prime plummeted (-£63.1m).
However, the biggest overall casualty was disposable vaping brand ElfBar (-£284m), amid signs that the vaping category may have passed its peak ahead of duty hikes and increased legislative restrictions. On the other hand, the overall fastest-growing product was SKE Crystal Bar (+£240.8m), which shows how prone to fast-moving fads the vaping category is.
The fortunes of the wrapped bread market were also highly variable. Hovis (-£37.7m) experienced the biggest downturn in sales of any food brand, while Warburtons (+£57.6m) was the biggest food brand to be in value and volume growth.
Fastest-growing grocery categories of 2024
| Category | Actual growth (£m) in value sales | |
| 1 | Chocolate | £532.6m |
| 2 | Fresh Meat | £481.3m |
| 3 | Fresh Fruit | £463.5m |
| 4 | Fresh Veg | £374m |
| 5 | Fresh Salad | £285.3m |
| 6 | Crisps & Snacks | £247.6m |
| 7 | Fresh Poultry | £247.6m |
| 8 | Eggs | £246m |
| 9 | Light Wine | £242.4m |
| 10 | Sweet Biscuits | £238.9m |
Fastest-falling grocery categories of 2024
| Category | Actual decline (£m) in value sales | |
| 1 | Milk | -£223.3m |
| 2 | Toilet Tissue | -£106.2m |
| 3 | Butter, Spreads & Marge | -£63.7m |
| 4 | Spirits | -£52.6m |
| 5 | Meat-Free | -£37.1m |
| 6 | Frozen Fish | -£21.3m |
| 7 | Sparkling Wine | -£19.9m |
| 8 | Kitchen Roll | -£12.9m |
| 9 | Champagne | -£12.1m |
| 10 | Dry Pasta | -£6.8m |
“This year’s Top Products Survey is a treasure trove of invaluable data and incredible insight,” said Adam Leyland, Editor-in-Chief at The Grocer.
“The biggest surprise is the resurgence in sales of red meats such as beef and lamb. The category has been in decline for a number of years amid widespread health and environmental concerns. And the strong growth in sales partly reflects the overall revival of scratch cooking. But whether it’s the influence of social media on the smash burger craze, the launch of clever new product development from supermarkets and their suppliers, or disaffection with meat-free innovation, it’s clear that shoppers have been reevaluating red meat.
“But don’t write off the meat-free category. There are concerns about the taste, healthiness and value of meat-free alternatives. But there’s still some brilliant innovation coming through in the meat-free space, and the number of vegetarians and vegans keeps growing for ethical, environmental and health reasons.”
Rachel White, Managing Director UK & Ireland at NIQ, added: “Shopping habits have changed once again. What we are seeing in this year’s survey is a return to scratch cooking and the preparation of fresh meals. Perhaps this is a nod to trends in healthier living – with consumers taking the time to prepare meals together, sourcing fresh and healthy products and consuming less alcohol – but it’s also a product of the cost of living crisis, as shoppers cut back on takeaways and eating out to save money.”
NAM Implications:
- Another basis for comparison with rivals…
- …given that in current market circumstances, any real growth will come at the expense of rivals.
- Best to take these stats at face value…
- …and compare brand by brand…
- …just to identify what you might change in 2025.
