The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has revealed that sales of gammon were up on the year in 2024.
Grocery sales surpassed £13 billion for the first time this Christmas, with an upturn in grocery price inflation of 3.7%, the highest level since March 2024 (Kantar 4 w/e 29th December 2024).
Total meat, fish and poultry (MFP) volumes remained level with Christmas 2023, despite a decrease in retail promotions across all red meat roasting joints.
Whole turkey fared well with +2.4% year-on-year volume growth. Gammon roasting joints also had a good year, said AHDB, even with significantly less promotional activity than turkey, with a +1.4% volume increase year-on year (Kantar 4 w/e 29th December 2024).
Volumes of gammon roasting joints sold during December represent 24.4% of all gammon roasting joint volumes sold during 2024, which AHDB said demonstrated the importance of gammon at Christmas festivities.
“It’s positive to see another strong performance from our meat and dairy sectors this Christmas… highlighting the importance of Christmas classics like cheese and roasting joints for British consumers.”
Emma Wantling, AHDB
Lamb roasting joints also had a strong seasonal performance, echoing the excellent performance for lamb as a whole (4.3% volume growth Kantar 52 w/e 29th December 2024).
Record grocery spend in 2024
AHDB shared that 23rd December proved to be the most popular grocery shopping day, with sales 30% higher than any other day in 2024. Growth of premium own-label lines increased by 14.6%, showing that consumers are willing to pay a bit more for a treat at Christmas time.
Online grocery spending reached a record £1.6 billion, reaching 5.6 million households this Christmas (Kantar 4w/e 29th December 2024), suggesting that many consumers are choosing to avoid the supermarket chaos and shop from their sofas in December.
AHDB’s retail & consumer insight manager, Emma Wantling, said: “It’s positive to see another strong performance from our meat and dairy sectors this Christmas, once again highlighting the importance of Christmas classics like cheese and roasting joints for British consumers.
“AHDB’s Let’s Eat Balanced marketing campaign has returned this January 2025 to promote the exceptional taste, flavours and nutritional benefits of lean meat and dairy as part of a varied and balanced diet.
“The campaign aims to build trust in the nation’s agricultural sector by bringing consumers closer to the farm, showcasing the resilience and dedication British farmers put into producing food of world-class quality.”
