The cans and cants of canned meat🥫

Canned meat and UHT milk saw a surge in sales at the start of the pandemic as people stocked up their cupboards, and sales have decreased since then. But with the financial impact of inflation, can these foods represent a way to ease financial pressure on households? Have sales remained elevated? They spiked during the pandemic, but… 

• Canned meat volumes have returned to the decline they were experiencing before, which shows that the upsurge in sales was short-lived. With increased focus on health, environment, and animal welfare, these products have challenges to overcome and are unlikely to trend high again.
• Although UHT milk volumes have eased when compared to their pandemic peak, volumes have remained higher than the pre-pandemic levels. Key to this is an increase in the proportion of households buying UHT milk.

According to the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD), 39% of shoppers are focusing more on saving money in the coming year, and the lower cost of canned products could play into this. There are also many consumers whose household finances are still affected by the economic shock of the pandemic, and canned foods and UHT milk have longer shelf lives and help reduce waste.

• Canned hot and cold meats are much cheaper than fresh or frozen meat.
• UHT milk is slightly higher priced than pasteurized milk, but cheaper than filtered. Nevertheless, the outlay per pack is much cheaper.

While fresh primary meat, fish, and poultry remain more popular, providing recipes to use fresh alongside tinned staples could help inspire cost-effective meals with British meat.