Waitrose has reported an increase in demand for comfort food as consumers continue to trade down and eat in during the cost-of-living crisis.
The upmarket retailer said searches are up 75% week on week for Martha Collison’s Fish Pie and searches for The Best Macaroni Cheese and The Best Cottage Pie have also doubled month on month, up 100%.
“With people going out less, they’re looking for simple indulgent treats to have at home with many choosing a meal that needs little or no prep but that will deliver on flavour,” Waitrose partner and executive chef, Martyn Lee said.
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He added: “Gourmet comfort food will be a top choice in the coming months, think – a creamy curry, an intense macaroni cheese, a hearty fish pie or cottage pie.”
To support the demand, Lee has also published 12 new Super Saver Recipes which cost less than £2 a portion to serve up, such as caramelised onion and anchovy spaghetti, slow cooker beef birria and chilli bean bowls with roasted cumin carrots.
This news comes as Waitrose is to replace its small wine bottles with aluminium cans in a bid to save over 320 tonnes of packaging.
The majority of small wine bottles, which are currently sold in glass bottles, started to move to aluminium cans as of last Sunday (15 January).
