UK Sales of Pork in Decline Again
UK - UK pork sales by volume recorded a decline in the 12 weeks to 22 May, according to the latest Kantar Worldpanel data.The amount of fresh/frozen pork sold decreased by just under 2 per cent on the same period a year earlier. This was the pattern recorded by the majority of other cuts, with chops/steaks, leg roasting joints and loin roasting joints recording declining sales of 1 per cent , 4 per cent and 7 per cent respectively. Shoulder joints, however, bucked this trend, and showed an increase in volume sales of almost 5 per cent on the same period last year.
While the Pulled Pork campaign was running over the 12 weeks to 22 May, the first wave of the campaign was live during April and May 2015. Therefore, both periods being compared are promotional ones. It can be inferred that the halo effect from the second and third wave of the Pulled Pork campaign, ran this year, was not as far reaching as 2015’s phase, although the direct uplift on sales of shoulder joints was greater.
This may be due to shoulder joints being on promotion for longer during the 2016 period, than the comparable one a year earlier.
Processed products also recorded sales declines in the 12 weeks to 22 May, with the exception of bacon, which recorded a modest increase of just under half of one per cent. Value fell across all cuts, exacerbated by fewer shoppers buying pork products. Encouragingly, however, pork chilled ready meals grew in both value and volume, as well as increasing the average unit price.