Nils-Gerrit Wunsch
Research expert covering foods trends in North America, Europe, and the global food system
Bread and bakery products in the UK - statistics and facts
In the United Kingdom, bread is a staple food and routinely gets eaten in significant quantities by a large part of the population. However, during the last 15 years, there has been a continuous decrease in the weekly purchase of bread among consumers in the UK. Nonetheless, British consumers still buy 465 grams of bread every week. Even without taking other baked goods into account, the UK bread market is worth almost 7.1 billion U.S. dollars. The volume of bread sold on the UK market comes to approximately 1.8 billion kilograms.
Bread production and trade
Sales of bread and fresh pastry manufacturers amount to around 8.4 billion British pounds in the UK. Between 2014 and 2020, sales have remained relatively stable. However, in the last couple of years, sales have increased noticeably. In the UK, there are about 30 manufacturers of bread and a fresh pastry with a turnover of more than 50 million British pounds. In total, there are approximately 2720 companies producing bread in the UK. The baked goods produced in the UK that are not consumed by the local populace, are most likely to be exported to Ireland, which is the UK's most important trading partner for bread and baked goods.Consumer preferences
British consumers purchase a variety of different types of breads and brioches, among which packaged sliced bread is the most consumed type of bakery product. Buns or rolls, baguettes, and sticks, as well as wraps are also among the more popular options. Warburtons is the leading British brand of breads and brioches, ahead of Hovis and Kingsmill. Warburtons offers a diversity of bread products, including its 'toastie white'. All in all, white bread is the most purchased type of bread in the UK. On average, consumers in the UK purchase 149 grams of white bread per week. Wholemeal and granary bread follow as the second most purchased type of bread, with an average of 95 grams purchased weekly.
