With the UK Sausage Week festivities now in full swing, Meat Management has used data provided by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) to observe sausage purchasing trends in 2024.
Back in May, it was reported that the performance of the sausage market was “commendable”, with sales in January 2024 up 1% year-on-year. In September, volume on pork sausages had increased by 0.1% in the last year driven by an increase in shoppers, which equated to an additional 183,000 kg of pork sausages sold in retail in the last year (Kantar, 52 w/e 29th September 2024).
Pork sausages now account for 18.8% of the total retail pork category (Kantar, 52 w/e 29th September 2024), with 82% of households having purchased pork sausages from retailers in the last year. According to Kantar, this equates to 172.8 million kg of pork sausages (Kantar, 52 w/e 29th September 2024).
In the Foodservice category, volumes of convenient sausage offerings showed double digit growth driven by higher frequency of purchase. AHDB estimated that 1.32 million kg of hot dogs were sold in foodservice last year, equating to 16.5 million packs sold - this was a 50.1% volume growth on the year. It also estimated that 700,000 kg of sausage rolls were sold in foodservice during the same period, equating to 5.5 million packs sold and a 19.7% volume growth in the last year (based on Kantar out-of-home data, 52 w/e 1st September 2024).
Consumers benefit from the versatility of the banger
AHDB said that compared to 2023, it was seeing that consumers were prepared to pay more for their sausages. In the May edition of Meat Management magazine, it was reported that Waitrose was able to “successfully market sausages from £1.80 for a pound pack of pork sausages to £5.50 for a 400g pack of Wagyu sausages” - this was a difference of 346% in price per kilogramme, proving that bangers were purchased as both an affordable meal to more gourmet meals.
According to AHDB, 62% of UK consumers consider sausages to be tasty, 59% find them easy to cook and 58% find them suitable for a mid week meal (AHDB/YouGov Consumer Tracker Aug 24).“
Looking at how sausages were being served, AHDB estimated that full English breakfast accounted for 63.1% of breakfast volume out-of-home, with a 3.6% volume growth in the last year (AHDB estimates based on Kantar out-of-home data, 52 w/e 1st September 2024).
