by Sarah Hills FoodBizDaily.com London
February 08 2010 - Sales of bread, traditional rolls and baps have fallen, according to TNS figures, suggesting that shoppers are moving away from the traditional British homemade sandwich to foreign alternatives.
In the last year volume sales of bread, traditional rolls and baps across all retailers fell by 1.2%, the TNS data for December 2009 showed, while French croissants have soared by 33%.
Meanwhile, Indian Chapattis and Mexican tortillas have grown by 18%, Indian naan bread rose by 13% and bagels increased by 11%.
And the indications are that instead of a making a sandwich with bread, a roll or a bap, increasing numbers are opting for croissants, wraps, bagels or Middle Eastern or Indian breads.
Tesco bakery spokesman, Andy Simpson, said: “There are so many bread varieties from all around the world now available in the UK and these are drawing sales from traditional loaves, rolls and baps, which have reigned supreme in bakeries for hundreds of years.
“While croissants have been commonplace across the UK since the 80s, it’s naan bread, chapattis, bagels and more recently tortillas that have now established themselves as popular snack alternatives to the traditional sandwich.”
He added that the main reason for this was the UK was more multicultural, popularising different cuisines.
However, he said it was also down to the diversity of bread now commonly found on supermarket shelves.