Consumers switched away from turkey during Christmas 2022 and favoured other meats such as lamb, new figures suggest.
The data from retail specialists Kantar show that consumers across GB spent £2.7m less on turkey crowns and joints compared with the previous Christmas period.
The main beneficiaries were chicken and lamb, with £1.2m more spent on lamb in December 2022.
The decline in turkey sales over the festive period may have been caused by the UK's ongoing bird flu crisis, which has seen over 600,000 turkeys culled.
Responding to Kantar's data, Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) has hailed the positive figures for lamb.
The levy board's research showed that consumers were potentially switching away from turkey in 2022.
HCC head of strategic marketing, Laura Pickup said: “The focus of our marketing campaigns for PGI Welsh Lamb was to encourage people to try a ‘new Christmas tradition’, with strong promotions for festive recipes with lamb across a range of media.
“It’s pleasing to see that this, alongside promotions by retailers, has had an impact in what is a difficult retail environment for premium proteins where shoppers are feeling the squeeze on living standards."
She said it was likely that 2023 would continue to see tough times in both the retail and foodservice sectors, and it’s significant that another sector of growth over Christmas was in frozen foods.
“HCC will be planning campaigns to keep top-quality fresh Welsh Lamb in people’s shopping baskets instead of frozen imports.”
