Research reveals what Central England Co-op shoppers like on their pancakes ahead of annual event

Posted by james brindle | Published: 17/02/2020

Forget chocolate and golden syrup, Central England Co-op shoppers prefer something a bit fruitier when it comes to their pancake toppings, new research reveals.

Ahead of this year’s Pancake Day on February 25, the retailer has revealed which toppings have been finding their way in to their shopper’s baskets in recent years.

Surprisingly, the most popular topping emerged as strawberries, seeing a huge rise of 77% in sales from 2018 to 2019 according to the data for the week up to and including Pancake Day.

This suggests that people are looking for healthier options for their pancakes and an 8% rise in blueberry sales in Shrove Tuesday week last year adds to that theory, as well as suggesting more and more people are cooking up pancakes for their breakfast on pancake day, not just as an evening treat.

The research reveals the popularity of traditional favourites such as golden syrup and sugar may be on the wane, both dropping in sales over the last three years, while after seeing a large drop between 2017 and 2018, lemon juice saw a 4% rise in the figures for 2019.

What is clear from the data is that increasingly shoppers are looking for a quicker and easier solution to their Pancake Day needs with ready-made pancake mix seeing a 30% rise in sales from 2017 to 2019, while plain flour sales, a vital pancake ingredient, fell 20% in that period.

This Pancake Day Central England Co-op shoppers have all their needs covered with ready-made mixes, spreads, lemon juice, fruits and even frying pans and measuring jugs available in store.

For those health-conscious consumers, new for 2020 in selected Central England Co-op stores are a range of Skinny Food Co. syrups and sauces, with zero sugar, zero fat and zero calories.

For information on deals and products at Central England Co-op this Pancake Day visit https://www.centralengland.coop/food

Top 5 pancake toppings at Central England Co-op stores in 2019

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Sugar
• Raspberries
• Lemon Juice

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. 

It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with the Society’s principal areas of activity being food, funeral services, travel shops, and property investment.

Central England Co-operative has over 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2020.

Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports several charities including Dementia UK and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.

Becoming a member of Central England Co-operative offers a whole host of benefits ranging from collecting points every time you spend in store to earn a share of the profits, access to members activities and community initiatives including the Community Dividend Fund, which hands out grants of up to £5,000 to charities and good causes across the Society’s trading estate.

Find out how to become a Central England Co-operative member by calling 0800 0501 601, emailing members@centralengland.coop or visiting https://www.members.coop

For more information visit www.centralengland.coop, follow Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative

Rob Smyth and James Brindle at Central England Co-operative on 01543 421390

Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop