Britain's Favourite Sandwiches

While chicken remains the most popular filling in sandwiches bought outside the home, the last year has seen a surge in demand for more traditional sandwich fillings such as egg, cheese and ham, according to a survey of multiple sandwich retailers issued by the British Sandwich Association for British Sandwich Week 2011.

About a third of all the sandwiches we buy outside the home contain chicken in one form or another but even this top seller has lost some favour with volume sales down by over 7% in the year to March 2011.   Meanwhile egg and ham sandwich sales are up by around 11% and 9% respectively, according to research by Kantar among leading sandwich retailers.

TOP 10 SANDWICH FILLINGS

1. Chicken (1)
2. Cheese (7)
3. Ham (12)
4. Egg (3)
5. Prawn (2)
6. Tuna (19)
7. Bacon (4)
8. Breakfast (13)
9. Combination (0)
10. Other meat (0)

(Source: Kantar)
Figures in brackets show position a year ago

Despite all the pressures on consumer spending, the commercial sandwich industry has continued to see volume growth in the last year with a two per cent rise in sales.  While some consumers have returned to making lunchbox sandwiches at home, these have been more than balanced by others who have chosen to purchase sandwiches rather than spending out elsewhere.

There is also some evidence that consumers find making lunchbox sandwiches a chore and many return to buying sandwiches after a few weeks because the choice is so much greater than the left-overs in fridges.   The savings can also be limited if wastage is taken into account.

In the home, ham and cheese continue to dominate – which also suggests that we are all, perhaps, a little less adventurous when it comes to making our own sandwiches – or maybe it’s because those tend to be the only ingredients we have in the fridge!

But while fillings may be something of a fashion item in the commercial sandwich world, most of us continue to support the traditional wedge sandwich as our favourite when it comes to bread.    Indeed, 58% of all commercially made sandwiches are still made with standard sandwich bread.   While other breads, come and go in popularity – in the last year paninis and wraps have been the in-choices – they continue to account for a very small share of the overall market.  Wraps currently have about 4% share and paninis less than 2%.