Beef pies have overtaken sausage rolls as the UK’s favourite savoury snack, according to a new report from research company Mintel.

The report found that beef pies, such as steak and kidney, steak and ale, and beef and onion, are now more popular than sausage rolls, which had previously topped the chart in 2008. The top three pie and pasty products in 2010 rank as beef pies (55% of people said these were their favourite), sausage rolls (53%) and Cornish pasties (45%).

The savouries market is performing well, said Mintel, and is expected to grow in value by 2% from £941m in 2009 to an estimated £962m by the end of 2010. Between 2008 and 2009, sales of pies and pasties increased by around 5%. The market is predicted to grow by a further 17% to reach £1.12bn by 2017. 

Vivianne Ihekweazu, senior food and drink analyst at Mintel, said: “While pies were often seen as old-fashioned, they have benefited from being repositioned as a popular gastro pub meal staple – moving them beyond the sausage roll in the eyes of the consumer.”

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