Central England Co-op reveals research into our Easter buying habits ahead of this year’s celebrations

Posted by james brindle | Published: 30/03/2021

Central England Co-op is looking ahead to another Easter under restrictions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and has released research from last year’s celebrations which revealed how shopping habits were affected by lockdown.

New research conducted by the retailer drawn from data from over 260 food stores reveals the best-selling products across the Easter period in 2020 and the bumper sales figures show that many shoppers turned to a chocolate treat to raise spirits during a lockdown Easter.

Far and away the biggest seller was the Cadbury Crème Egg with over 35,400 sold across Central England Co-op stores in Easter week, up 143% on the previous year.

The next biggest seller were bags of Cadbury Mini Eggs which were up 16.8% year on year. Co-op own brand products also saw large boosts in sales, with Co-op Solid Milk Chocolate Eggs up 159%, and Co-op branded Easter eggs also proved popular with the Co-op Golden Honeycomb Crunch Egg-splosion the biggest seller and sales of the Co-op Milk Chocolate Orange Loaded Egg doubling year on year.

To meet demand this year Central England Co-op’s distribution team has shifted a whopping 380,000 Easter eggs through its food distribution centre – more than ever before – as well as 415,000 bags of Cadbury’s Mini Eggs and over 500,000 Cadbury Crème Eggs.

Bakery sales were up over 20% last Easter. Although there was a small drop in regular hot cross bun sales, more people treated themselves to something a bit more special with sales of Co-op Irresistible Hot Cross Buns up 24% with over 1,500 more hot cross buns sold last Easter overall.

In terms of flowers, thousands of shoppers turned to the traditional bunch of daffodils to mark Easter with Co-op Daffodils the biggest seller with 8,864 bunches sold in Easter week 2020.

Central England Co-op stores have some great products on offer for Easter 2021 and Co-op has reaffirmed its environmental credentials by removing the plastic packaging from its Easter eggs, as part of its commitment to eliminate unnecessary plastic from its own-brand ranges.

Co-op has eradicated the use of plastic inner packaging and windows for all five of its hollow Fairtrade Easter eggs, which will save over 14 tonnes of unnecessary plastic.

Central England Coop is giving its members 20% off all its own-brand, Fairtrade Easter eggs including delicious new eggs such as the Co-op Irresistible Valencia Orange Crush egg and the Co-op Irresistible Golden Praline Egg.

There are also some fantastic hot cross bun options available in store, including Co-op Irresistible Richly Fruited Hot Cross Buns, Co-op Irresistible Apple and Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns and Co-op Irresistible Belgium Chocolate Brioche Hot Cross Buns available for 2 packs for £2.50.

To find out more about spring at Central England Co-op visit https://www.centralengland.coop/food/healthy-living/celebrate-the-simple-things-this-spring

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK with interests in food, funeral, floral and property investment.

Owned by hundreds of thousands of members, its 7,550 colleagues serve customers across over 400 trading sites in 16 counties in the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

Its purpose is to inspire communities to create a sustainable Society for all; a strong and successful Society that is invested in protecting the environment and the wellbeing of all its colleagues, members, and customers.

To safeguard the dignity and security of colleagues in the workplace, the Society actively campaigns for the Government to increase sentencing for violent attacks on retail workers.

Working with FareShare Midlands and hundreds of food banks, they have generated enough food donations to create over 2.1 million meals for people in need.

The Society embraces inclusivity and equality and is a signed-up member to the Business in the Community (BITC) Race at Work Charter. 

It is also fully committed to addressing the impact of climate change and is on track to be Carbon Neutral by 2030.  Current holders of the Carbon Trust Triple standard for Carbon, Waste and Water, retained for seven years. They are the only supermarket in the UK to achieve the Triple standard.

Press office contacts: Rob Smyth and James Brindle

Phone - 01543 421390

Email - publicrelations@centralengland.coop