No longer relegated to side dish status, this year sees salads taking centre-stage on our summer tables and when it comes to the leaves – sales data suggests ‘the greener the better’.
- 2016 is the year of salad
- Spinach - up by nearly a fifth - is number 1 in bagged salads
- Growth of dark green leaves overtakes iceberg
Sainsbury’s Baby Spinach is the best-selling salad bag, Sainsbury’s Wild Rocket is at number three, with mixed salad bags - that combine a selection of different leaves - also a popular choice. Sales of perennial favourite Iceberg remain steady and it is still has a place in the top ten sellers but the growth of darker green options suggests a broader consumer desire to embrace these nutrient-rich leaves. Sales trends at Sainsbury’s shows dark green varieties like spinach, rocket and watercress are among those growing the fastest
Year on year salad bag sales are below*:
- Mixed Leaf +92% (a mix of Red Multileaf, Green Multileaf, Green Batavia & Radicchio)
- Watercress +52%
- Bistro +27% (a mix of Lambs Lettuce, Beetroot, Red Chard & Bulls Blood Chard)
- Rocket +20%
- Sweet leaf mix +20% (a mix of Iceberg Lettuce, Carrot, Romaine Lettuce & White Cabbage)
- Spinach +19%
With the rise in recipes, inviting us to fill salads with as much flavour and texture as possible, one thing is clear; we can’t get enough of salads. They’re a great way to combine lots of flavours in a fresh, simple and tasty meal, with so many possibilities for flavour and texture combinations – they’re the one-pot of the summer months.
*These figures show YoY growth this summer compared to 2015. This is against a backdrop of steady growth within the wider salad segment, which is up 7% year on year.