Peas on toast replacing smashed avocado due to cost of living crisis, Waitrose says
Shoppers struggling with the cost of living crisis are apparently turning to comfort foods including oven chips, macaroni cheese and battered fish - while peas on toast are replacing smashed avocado.
People are becoming "less adventurous" as tighter food budgets prompt a return to old favourites, Waitrose says.
A third of UK adults have regularly eaten classic dishes such as shepherd's pie and macaroni cheese, the supermarket's tenth annual food and drink survey found.
"This year, food inflation has changed not only how people shop, but also how they cook and eat," Waitrose executive director James Bailey said.
"Price-conscious customers have been searching for the best value, switching more to own-label, buying bigger pack sizes, and looking to our promotions to cushion their bills.
"They've been simplifying their meal choices and becoming a little less adventurous, choosing familiar foods and recipes they find comforting."
Chicken Kyiv and beer battered fish were the most popular ready meals, while sales of Waitrose essential pork sausages were up 34% on last year.
The humble potato was also a big seller, with sales of Waitrose's Essential own-brand French fries up by 80%. Sales of potato side dishes were up 19%, with triple-cooked chips and potato dauphinoise the most popular.
For years, avocado on toast has been shorthand for millennial frippery - the only thing holding a generation back from getting on the property ladder.
But in October, "smashed peas on toast was declared the new avocado on toast," Waitrose said.
The supermarket has seen sales of its 725g packs of frozen garden peas rise 28% this autumn.
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In other aisles, fermented foods became mainstream, with sales of kimchi and beetroot kimchi up 44% and 114% respectively.
Protein also dominated the year's trends. One in eight adults said they had changed their diet in the past year to eat more protein, with sales of high-protein drinks and yogurts up 39% and cottage cheese up 14%.
Meanwhile, vegetable crisps suffered a 15% slump in sales, with customers turning back to regular potato crisps instead.
Waitrose de-listed its ready-made jacket potato with cheese on top as cost-conscious shoppers turned away from products they could easily create themselves.
Low-fat dairy products are also falling out of favour. A third of customers said they had switched from eating a low-fat dairy product to a full fat one, most commonly milk, followed by yoghurt and cheese.
