Bread sales are up by 15.1% on June 2007, an increase of about £215m, according to the latest figures from TNS Worldpanel.
This growth has been caused by an increase in the average price per pack because of the increase in the cost of raw materials, in particular wheat.
The average loaf now costs 11p more than it did last year, with bread experiencing some of the highest inflation levels across all food categories.
Despite this increase in price, the volume of bread purchased has grown slightly (by 0.3%), reversing a long-term decline.
Some sectors are doing better than others, with customers switching to brown bread and wholewhite, at the expense of white.
In-store bakery bread is performing strongly, with volume growth of 5.7%.
In comparison, plant bread is showing a decline of 0.5% year on year. It is this strong performance from in-store bakery bread that has been driving the volume recovery in bread. But plant bread is now showing volume growth in the latest quarter.
400g loaves continue to outperform 800g. As the price of a loaf of bread continues to increase, more shoppers seem to be increasingly price-sensitive and more conscious about in-home wastage that could occur with the larger packs.
The total bread market in the UK is worth more than £1.6bn a year.
Market sharesWhite 62.8%
Wholemeal 17.0%
Brown 6.3%
Grained 4.0%
Wholewhite 3.7%
Loose 3.4%
Other types 2.9%
Source: TNS WorldpanelYear on year growthWhite 13.1%
Wholemeal 11.6%
Brown 39.7%
Grained -18.9%
Wholewhite 229.8%
Loose 3.3%
Other types 24.2%
Source: TNS WorldpanelTop bread brands1. Warburtons Wax White
2. Kingsmill Great Everyday
3. Hovis Best of Both White
4. Hovis Square Cut White
5. Tesco Wrapped
6. Kingsmill 50/50 Wrapped
7. Warburtons Farmhouse Wrappped
8. Sainsbury's Wrapped
9. Warburtons Seeded Batch
10. Hovis Wholemeal
Source: TNS Worldpanel
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