Kiwis will be enjoying some traditional – and not so traditional – fare to celebrate Easter this year.
While the Easter Bunny is getting a helping hand, with Kiwis snapping up Easter classics like chocolate eggs and hot cross buns early, there’s also a noticeable trend this year for ‘traditional with a twist’.
Already more than 1.7 million packs and individual Easter eggs (around 17 million single eggs!) and 1.3 million packets of hot cross buns (or around 7.5 million single buns!) have been sold in Countdown stores across New Zealand, and the stores are prepared for increasing demand as we get closer to Easter Sunday.
While Countdown’s classic hot cross buns, recently rated by Consumer NZ as one of Aotearoa’s best, remain a firm favourite – making up around 60% of purchases, some of its new flavour combinations like mango, raspberry and white chocolate, and orange and chocolate are growing in popularity.
Countdown’s bakers have also teamed up with Cookie Time this year to create the Cookie Smash Choc Cross Bun, which customers are loving.
“This week is the big week for hot cross buns across all ranges, with more than half a million packs (or three million buns) expected to be bought in the lead up to Easter Sunday, with five cents from every pack of traditional hot cross buns going to KidsCan,” says Countdown’s Head of Produce and Bakery, Ryan McMullen.
More than 4.1 million packs and individual Easter eggs (approx 40 million single eggs) are also expected to be tucked away in trollies, with 70% of eggs purchased in the week leading up to the big bunny’s visit.
Marshmallow eggs are always a Kiwi favourite (particularly the homegrown Buzz egg), accounting for more than 30% of easter eggs sold in our stores, followed closely by bags of delicious solid chocolate eggs at 29% of sales.
Some of the less traditional egg flavours customers are loving this year include raspberry and chocolate, marble and coconut rough.
For the main easter meal though, it’s Kiwi tradition all the way, with both roasts and barbies popular options now we can get together again with whānau and friends.
“The deciding factor for most of us is when Easter falls – if it’s later, like this year, the slightly cooler weather sees the traditional roast edging ahead, with the good old Kiwi ‘leg of lamb’ the most popular choice, and a spike in demand similar to what we see at Christmas,” says Countdown’s Head of Meat, Nikhil Sawant.
With a few days off, many Kiwis also take the time to enjoy a leisurely bacon and egg breakfast, with sales of streaky bacon usually up around 17% and (non-chocolate) eggs up just under five percent over the Easter period.
However Kiwis are celebrating, Countdown will have plenty of the traditional treats and the new favourites on offer to help make sure this Easter is a delicious one.
