Chicken has overtaken sausages to become Britain’s second-favourite BBQ choice as shoppers continue to cut back on processed meats.
Both burgers and sausages featured in fewer British barbecues last year, with occasions down by 15% and 24% respectively year on year [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 3 December 2018].
While burgers retained the top spot with 31 million occasions, sausages slipped into third place with 25.2 million occasions. Chicken grew share to become the second most popular meat choice, served at 28.5 million barbecues last year.
“One of the largest shifts this year has seen chicken overtake sausages as the second most popular choice, eaten at nearly a third of all barbecue meals,” said Kantar analyst Richard Allen. “Sausages, previously one of the nation’s favourite barbecued meats, was a feature at eight million fewer occasions this year, putting it behind chicken in the pecking order.”
Chicken is perceived as healthier and more versatile than red meat, and the development of ranges designed to be cooked in the oven and finished on the BBQ had alleviated concerns around cooking it properly, said Moy Park senior insight and research manager Jason Winstanley.
However, cuts of beef, lamb and pork were also in higher demand, featuring in 22.6% and 11% of barbecue occasions in 2017, suggesting shoppers were “increasingly choosing foods that are perceived as being more natural” and cutting back on processed products, said Allen.
Inspired by the “slow and low” US barbecue movement, supermarkets have also expanded their ranges of barbecue-ready red meat products, such as Asda’s Honey & Oak Smoked Lamb Shoulder and Tesco’s Maple Pork Rib Racks.
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