A Verdict Research and SAS report has indicated that the UK will spend £1.2bn more on Christmas this year than last. With this in mind we’ve compiled a top 5 list of new food products launched for Christmas 2011, which products will prove popular amongst the Christmas shopper?
1) Heston Blumenthal’s Square Mince Pies
Following on from last years Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding Heston has now unveiled his own range of Mince Pies for Waitrose. Square in shape the pies are made from puff pastry as opposed to the traditional shortcrust variety.
Another noticeable variant from the customary mince pie is Blumenthal’s trick of infusing the filling with pine scented sugar to give off the aroma of what many view as the true smell of Christmas.
Waitrose Buyer Alison McLoughlin commented:
“A Heston from Waitrose Mince Pie is a complete re-invention of the humble mince pie.”
2) Grumpies of Cornwall Christmas Pies
A Cornish based pie company has created two pies especially for the Christmas market. Inspired by traditional festive fare the pies are a take on the conventional Christmas dinner. The first one being a turkey, cranberry and stuffing combination, accompanied by a vegetarian option of roast vegetable, stilton and chestnut.
Grumpies was co-founded by Mark Carne and Trevor Shea, and after their first year of business they are feeling positive about the future, with Carne stating:
“We’ve been massively encouraged by the response of the general public to these pies.”
The pies can be purchased at www.foodfromcornwall.co.uk and at selected food markets and delis in the Cornwall area.
3) Haribo Christmas Range
This year Haribo has unveiled its largest ever Christmas range, complete with new packaging formats and sweets.
The collection consists of Merry Snowmen, Sparkly Stars and Jolly Santas. All varieties are available in different sized packs from 50g grab bags, to 120g tube box and a 400g carry case containing 25 mini bags, amongst other options.
Herwig Vennekens, Managing Director of Haribo commented:
“Christmas may traditionally be dominated by chocolate but our growth during the 2010 season demonstrated a growing demand for Haribo gums and jellies; this combined with market research into festive purchase occasions has led us to launch our biggest ever range of Christmas themed treats.”
4) Limited Edition Muller Christmas Corner
From December 5th two varieties of Muller Christmas Corner yogurts will be in stores for a four week period over the festive season.
Available in either the classic vanilla or strawberry flavour the yogurt pot will be accompanied by a crunch corner containing novelty yogurt covered snowflakes.
Muller Dairy’s Marketing Director Lee Robson stated that limited edition lines have been fruitful in attracting new customers to the brand in the past adding:
“Müller Corner is bought by more than half the households in Britain – well ahead of the 38% penetration level of its nearest competitor – so it’s well placed to boost seasonal sales by adding some festive cheer to the chiller cabinet with a Christmas Corner yogurt”
5) Linda McCartney Vegetarian Christmas Range
The well known vegetarian brand has released a new assortment of meat free goodies for the Christmas market. Offering an alternative to the long established turkey roast dinner Linda McCartney provides a Vegetarian Roast which takes less than an hour to cook.
Also part of the new range is a take on the classic party sausage within their veggie nibble selection, a full sized Rosemary & Red Onion Sausage, and Cranberry & Camebert Burger.
The range provides consumers with a varied meat free choice, complete
