Sales of panettone through supermarkets have halved since 2021, new data has revealed.
Circana data – which covers the UK major multiples, convenience outlets, and drugstores – shows that just under 682,000 units of panettone were sold between October and December 2021 but this has since plummeted to 347,000 in the same period for 2024, representing a decline of 49.1%.
The biggest drop for the Italian baked good occurred between 2022 and 2023 when 211,000 fewer units were sold (see table below).
Stollen, meanwhile, has seen an uptick in demand with unit sales growing 13.1% during the festive season over the past few years.
However, the data doesn’t necessarily mean that Brits’ appetite for panettone is waning. Consumers could be opting to buy their panettone through other means such as online, via craft bakeries, or through the discounters (which are not included in the above data).
Indeed, Aldi is serving up a Classic Panettone, a Chocolate Chip Panettone, and Pistachio Panettone as part of its range this year, all of which are priced at £5.99 for a 750g product. The latter is swirled with pistachio crème and chocolate chips.
Other retailers are also trying to draw consumers in with new flavours. Asda, for example, added a Ginger & Chocolate variant to its festive line-up this year, while Waitrose has unveiled a Hazelnut Crème version as well as a Sicilian Orange Nocciolato one, and Tesco has rolled out a Gingerbread Panettone and a hybrid Sticky Toffee Panettone Christmas Pudding.
The yeasted sweet bread is also becoming more prevalent at Easter, with Tesco unveiling a St Clements Panettone earlier in the year.
Stollen steals the show
The Circana data also showed a steady rise is stollen sales climbing from around 154,000 in 2021 to 174,000 in 2024 – an increase of 13.1%. However, the journey hasn’t been a linear one as sales dipped to just under 104,000 units in 2023 meaning the increase between Q4 that year and Q4 2024 was an impressive 67.1%.
Circana said the growing prevalence of discount retailers with German heritage has likely helped to propel Stollen into more baskets each Christmas, bringing continental bakes to a wider audience and broadening the nation’s festive palate. It added that stollen is becoming ‘increasingly mainstream’ in the UK thanks to its combination of rich fruit, warming spices, and indulgent marzipan which seems to hit the sweet spot for consumers seeking an alternative to heavy fruit cake.
The German fruit bread is traditionally made with nuts, spices, and dried or candied fruit as well as marzipan but, like panettone, retailers are getting experimental with flavours. Waitrose, for example, sought to entice consumers with a Pistachio & Cherry Stollen Wreath.
There is also a focus on smaller portion sizes for stollen designed to be eaten as an afternoon treat in the run up to Christmas day, as evidenced by the Stollen Slices added to Co-op’s range.
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