In the last year, sales of canned goods grew in the UK by 4.6% (according to Kantar Worldpanel), which is 1% higher than the total grocery market, which grew by just 3.6%.
A store cupboard staple, 99.2% of the UK population (26.2 million households) buy into the canned goods market, which is higher than the number of households that buy into the total frozen market, cheese, alcohol and fresh meat categories combined.
In monetary figures, consumers spent £2.4bn on canned goods (£104.3m more than the previous year), with 3.2 billion packs sold.
The not-for-profit organisation Canned Food UK, which is made up of leading can and product manufacturers, is launching the first ever Canned Food Week, taking place 15-21 April 2013.
Canned Food Week is designed to showcase the benefits of canned food, showing consumers that it is a healthy, time-effective and cost-effective way to cook.
Sue Shaw, spokesperson for Canned Food UK, said: “Canned food continues to be a much-loved product in almost every household across the UK. Annual figures for the grocery market show that the canned food market is ever-growing and at a faster rate than food in alternative packaging methods.
“The industry is now very adept, with ongoing developments in technology. Moreover, the continual introduction of new and innovative products provides consumers with excellent value and a wide variety of choice.
“20 years ago, the main canned foods bought were sweetcorn, tuna and tomatoes. Now, suppliers make an impact with high-value products that haven’t always been available, from coconut milk, stir fry vegetables and pulses, through to limited edition flavours of store cupboard favourites.”
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