Asda is to unveil new hot, or haute, cross bun bum bags as the supermarket gears up for record sales of the seasonal grocery item over Easter.

The limited edition Hot Cross Bum Bag is set to join Asda’s ‘Haute Cross Couture’ ranges, coinciding with the launch of London Fashion Week.

The new accessory, which will be available in March and April, has also been created to raise awareness of Asda’s hot cross bun range, with the supermarket giant adding that “food-inspired fashion is more popular than ever”.

The retailer has predicted that over Easter it will sell 178 hot cross buns per minute, forecasting sales of over £5.6m worth of hot cross buns during the season, representing 22.4m individual buns.

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Asda has expanded the range, with a new Tiramisu flavour set to join its existing line of Caramel Fudge, Raspberry and White Chocolate versions, in addition to traditional flavour hot cross buns.

Shoppers will be able to take advantage of Asda’s newly reintroduced Rollback scheme to purchase a pack of four buns for £1.43 (down from £1.80), whilst The Bakery at Asda Hot Cross Buns are available for £1.07/6pk, down from £1.50.

Experimenting with innovation with hot cross buns has long been an annual staple for supermarkets. In previous years Aldi has launched giant hot cross buns and liqueur, while Tesco has opened a hot cross bun café. In 2023 Heinz launched limited-edition jars of hot cross bun mayonnaise, to mixed response.

However last year, both Asda and Tesco found themselves in hot water, after critics blasted the supermarket’s presentation of hot cross buns as “playing fast and loose with culinary tradition”.