Like many old celebrations and rituals, Pancake Day has lost most of its religious freight in the modern world, but it is still officially known as Shrove Tuesday.
The word shrove is from the nearly derelict verb, “shrive” – to grant absolution for someone's sins by way of Confession and doing penance, which immediately dates the occasion to the pre-Protestant days of the sixteenth century, when England was still Catholic.
If you were “shriven” and forgiven your sins, you were ready to begin the period of Lent – a fasting month, a bit like periods of fasting in Islam (Ramadan) and Hinduism, that prepares you spiritually or for a big event.
Thus Shrove Tuesday was named after the custom of Christians to be "shriven" before the start of Lent.
Illustration from 19th century.
But what does that jhave to do with pancakes? Well, it was all about finishing off the “sinful” and indulgent fats and sugars in the kitchen before we all went back to eating plain, basic food (Easter arrives with a big blow-out meal) – dairy, fats, and meats (which were either eaten up or salted and hung the day Shrove Tuesday, on “Collop Monday” – a collop being a thin slice of meat). The deadline for empty pantries is the following day, Ash Wednesday, and then nothing naughty until the end of Lent.
The last few years has seen Shrove Tuesday edge earlier in the year. In 2022 it was March 1, and last year 21 February. This year it is 13 February. The point is that Shrove Tuesday always occurs 47 days before Easter Sunday, a day based on the cycles of the moon. This means pancakes ahoy at any time between 3 February 3 and March 9. This year Pancake Day is 13 February.
Pancake Day is celebrated all over the world, especially in Catholic countries (sweet pa̡czki are traditional in Poland) or in in English-speaking ones such as the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada. In France, the USA and other countries, it is called “Mardi Gras” – in New Orleans the pancake is called “King Cake” and is eaten on “Fat Tuesday”.
The pancake has been around for a long time and shows up in recipes dating as far back as 1439. According to a book from 1619, people were flipping them back then as well: “And every man and maide doe take their turne, And tosse their Pancakes up for feare they burne.” (from “Pasquil’s Palin”).
While not representing a huge spike in sales in the way that Easter boosts chocolate, for example, Pancake Day is still a very useful occasion for retailers to draw in footfall – especially distressed sales as parents rush around to gather ingredients at the last minute before post-school suppers.
Impulse buys
After Christmas, Pancake Day is the second biggest sales week for the Total Ambient Home Baking category, with total sales being +24 per cent higher than the average week,” says Jen Brown, Head of Marketing for Cake at Dr. Oetker Baking.
“In some of these sub sectors there are huge sales opportunities, not surprisingly there is a huge uplift in the baking mix sector, with sales of Pancake Mixes during the week of Shrove Tuesday being worth £1.8m, up over 1,000 per cent vs. an average week. (Source: Circana 52 w/e 14 October 2023, Pancake Mixes)
Pancake Day is the highest indexing event of the year (153) for the baking sector and sales spikes are often seen in the week before and maintained throughout the week of the event itself,” says Jen Brown, Head of Marketing for Cake at Dr. Oetker Baking.
She adds that when it comes to which key products perform best over the Pancake Day occasion, a popular seller is the base ingredient, Baking Powder, along with a variety of flavourings, with the top choice being Madagascan Vanilla.
“Confectionery products such as chocolate chips and chocolate chunks are also popular and we also see other types of decorations over indexing more highly, particularly sprinkles. Dr. Oetker has a range of colourful and exciting sprinkles including Unicorn Confetti, Rainbow Magic, Chocolatey Caramel Crunch, Bright & Bold Sprinkles and a Chocolatey Mix.”
The confectioner Hancocks has unveiled an extensive range of toppings, spreads and sweets ahead of Pancake Day that it would be well worth stocking up on, including sweet toppings, spreads and syrups from customers’ favourite brands such as Kit Kat, Lotus Biscoff, Hershey’s and Bonds.
“Pancake Day is a great opportunity for retailers to drive sales during the quieter time between Valentine’s and Mother’s Day,” said Kathryn Hague, head of marketing at Hancocks.
“The key products we recommend stocking are a variety of toppings, spreads and syrups that will undoubtedly be popular in the weeks leading to Pancake Day.”
Brown advises that shoppers often use in-store displays for reminders and inspiration, meaning that in-store feature space has the potential to drive uplifts of over +100%. “The best way to drive sales for Pancake Day is to use this feature space to inspire shoppers, including solutions for both from scratch bakers and convenience bakers with both base ingredients and ready-made mixes. Other key products to focus on are those that help consumers to decorate their pancakes,” she says
The Hancocks range includes sweet toppings, spreads and syrups from customers’ favourite brands like Kit Kat, Lotus Biscoff, Hershey’s and Bonds.
Pancakes prepare for Spring
There was a huge rise in sales of baking products over the pandemic period as the nation rediscovered the joys of domesticity and a slower pace of family life. That sales soufflé collapsed somewhat after lockdown ended, but home-baking has nonetheless regained some of its traditional eminence. Pancakes – the fast-food of the baking world (not strictly baked of course but called “cakes” after all) – are the cheerleaders for a consumer awareness of cooking tasty treats at home, and sales of other ingredients and products can usefully be stocked alongside and sold in the wake of pancake enthusiasm.
To that end, don’t treat Pancake Day as just about pancakes – think of it as Cake Day or Sweet Treat Tuesday and merchandise other delicious ready-baked goods and ingredients for more ambitious concoctions – not only lemon and jam and sugar, but sprinkles and sauces and other fillings for sponges and layer cakes and all manner of cookies.
Brown says that having feature space for the key products is essential for bringing in shoppers: “People have lots of different preferences when it comes to pancakes, whether it is making from scratch or ready-made shortcuts. Everyone also has their favourite toppings so getting the most popular is key.”
Toppings: Lemon Juice, Sugar, Maple Syrup, Golden Syrup, Spreads e.g. Nutella
Stack ’em up
Pancake day is not just for afternoon tea or supper. Although weekday breakfasts can be too hurried to make pancakes from scratch, the perfect solution is at hand because Rustlers, synonymous with their convenient chilled ready meal offering, provides a chilled single serve option similar to the well-established variants in QSR.
The multiple award-winning Rustlers All Day Breakfast Pancake Stack (three buttermilk pancakes with a sachet of maple syrup-style sauce) has quickly become one of the fastest growing products in the brands’ range since launching in 2022.
“Ideal for shoppers seeking a hassle-free alternative to scratch cooking and batter mixes, the All Day Breakfast Pancake Stack (case size four) features three buttermilk pancakes, served with a sachet of maple syrup style sauce,” says Elaine Rothballer, Head of marketing consumer brands at Kepak.
To sell more on Pancake Day, it’s essential to be aware of the mealtime possibilities and the many accessories, toppings and fruits that can be sold alongside the basic ingredients.
Jen Brown adds: “The best way to convert advertising into sales is to offer clear, simple price messaging and ensure there is a strong association for families. Another key trend to tap into is ‘solution-based’ content which includes equipment that can be used to drive performance.”
That doesn’t mean you have to sell fry-pans (though perhaps not a terrible idea), but helpful squeezy bottles of syrups, and handy containers of sprinkles can be quick sellers.
Retailers with digital marketing platforms might also consider creating a mini “event” to showcase Pancake Day products and bundle solutions to their shoppers and drive up basket spend.
Be sure you have enough flour on the shelf and be sure to have plenty of eggs around – we get through a staggering 52 million of them on Pancake Day, 22 million more than on a regular day. You should also consider a pre-mixed pancake mix for hassled parents.
These are almost guaranteed sales: Brits on average consume two pancakes per person on Pancake Day, meaning that the country will consume 117 million pancakes on February 13!
Absolutely delicious recipes
Why not try these delicious recipes from Lyle’s Golden Syrup, and Tat & Lyle sugar, alongside (and after) pancakes and Pancake Day – and help to grow sales of the category in your store?
The police-led National Business Crime Centre (NBCC) is urging retailers to make full use of the crime prevention and training resource available for free via their website to help support shop workers during the busy festive season.
With the most recent crime survey from the BRC showing incidents of abuse and violence towards shopworkers have risen to 1,300 a day, the lead up to Christmas can be extremely challenging for those working in retail.
The NBCC has designed a series of training videos for those working in the retail sector to help them deal with difficult situations and customers and to provide practical steps they can take to stay safe and de-escalate a potential flash point.
The videos cover four key areas: personal safety and de-escalation, saying no - refusing service, deterring and interacting with thieves, and handling disruptive behaviour. Each video is no more than four minutes long and provides tactics and strategies which any retail worker can use.
“We know what a difficult time the run up to Christmas can be for those working in retail. Long queues and crowded shops can lead to tempers fraying and provide more opportunities for shop thefts. The NBCC has developed easy-to-use support for retailers and their staff to help keep staff safe and reduce the potential for shop thefts. We hope that the easy to digest training videos can give shop workers a bit more confidence and support during a very busy time,” Supt Patrick Holdaway, NBCC lead, said.
Retailers can also access a comprehensive employer framework aimed at preventing violence and abuse within retails retail settings.
The ‘Framework for Employers’ brings together existing good practice within the sector and presents it as a comprehensive, simple step by step process that can be implemented by retailers to demonstrate how they will support their employers to prevent violence and abuse in retail settings.
It includes a post-incident support process which highlights the practical steps employers should be taking to support retail workers after an incident of violence and abuse occurs, for example, their responsibility to ensure incidents are reported, risks are analysed and appropriate support systems are put in place.
If a crime is committed then it is essential to report it to police and capture any digital evidence such as CCTV. The NBCC have worked with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and police forces to develop a standard witness statement which retailers can use when submitting CCTV evidence to the police using a Digital Evidence Management Systems (DEMS). Retailers can access it here.
When reporting a crime to the police it is important that key information is conveyed calmly and accurately to the operator so that they can assess the information and decide on the appropriate response. The information provided to the operator is important in assessing the threat, harm and risk enabling the police to decide on how best to respond. The NBCC has developed a comprehensive guide for retailers and shopworkers on what you need to tell police when reporting a crime and when to dial 999.
“Undoubtedly crimes will take place, and when they do, we want retailers to report the crime and know how to get the digital evidence to the police in the fastest way possible and how to support and care for employees who may have been impacted emotionally or physically by abuse or violence towards them,” Holdaway added.
The NBCC has a dedicated section on the website for Shopworker Safety.
UK food businesses are expected to face significant financial challenges in 2025, grappling with multiple cost pressures. The cost of food items is predicted to rise by up to 4.9 per cent next year, according to the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD).
IGD’s latest Viewpoint Special Report, “Hungry For Growth”, highlights food inflation as one of the most significant challenges for UK households. However, it also places the increase in food prices within a wider context of overall industry pressures.
IGD’s forecast for food inflation in 2025 is based on a full overview of all the cost pressures on food businesses for the next 12 months. While energy and commodity prices will remain stable albeit a little higher in 2025, there will be significantly increased employment and regulatory costs for food businesses in the coming year which will mean food inflation could hit anywhere between 2.4 per cent - 4.9 per cent.
In July 2024, IGD forecast that retail food inflation in 2025 would average 2.1 per cent. This forecast has been revised upward principally on the basis of measures announced in the budget.
In forming these new forecasts, IGD assumed that major policy changes raising business costs will arrive in three phases over the next year:
April: rising costs to employment staff due to increases in National Insurance and National Living Wage
July: rising costs of food imports due to implementation of the Windsor Agreement framework with the EU
Oct: first payments are due to fall on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), increasing costs on packaging
IGD estimates that the food sector will only be able to absorb between 20 per cent - 40 per cent of these costs, meaning the remainder will be passed onto the consumer.
Food inflation is likely to continue to exceed inflation in other items, not just in 2025 but also 2026.
“We do not see food prices going down in the foreseeable future," said IGD Chief Economist James Walton. "The rising cost of living, combined with increased employment and regulatory costs, will keep inflation elevated. Consumers will undoubtedly look for ways to save money, but the impact of these cost pressures will be felt across the economy.
"For the food sector, the increased financial burdens are becoming harder to absorb, particularly for smaller players in the sector. The cumulative impact of multiple changes landing within a short period of time will drive significant cost into all food businesses across the UK.”
Police investigating crimes linked to the Post Office Horizon IT scandal are looking at "dozens" of potential suspects, but don't expect trials to begin until 2027. The police will also await the publication of Sir Wyn Williams’ public inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT scandal before moving forward to charging, stated recent reports.
The investigation, which the police describe as unprecedented in size and scale, is in the first instance examining potential offences of perjury and perverting the course of justice by those involved in making “key decisions” on Post Office investigations and supporting prosecutions of branch owner-operators.
However, a second phase, which is being developed concurrently, is looking at “wider offences” and decision-makers involved more broadly at the Post Office, as well as at Fujitsu, which developed the controversial Horizon accounting software.
Three suspects have already been interviewed under caution and there are plans to interview others next year, according to police.
But no one will be charged until officers have read the final report from the separate public inquiry, almost 30 years after concerns were first raised.
Stephen Clayman, the Met commander overseeing the police investigation, said officers were “looking at the actions of prominent individuals” beyond those directly involved in making decisions on Post Office investigations and supporting prosecutions.
“We will go where the evidence takes us,” The Guardian quoted Clayman as saying. “We are looking at the Post Office and Fujitsu and anything wider. We will cast the net wider in terms of culpability.”
“The scale of the task ahead is unprecedented. I do know that if you take into account Post Office criminal and private prosecutions, civil claims and contract withdrawals, there are potentially thousands of victims who we are working hard to identify.”
Clayman added, “No key decisions will be made around submissions and charging decisions until the final report is delivered and thoroughly reviewed by the investigation team and the Crown Prosecution Service. We are looking at 2027 [for trials] realistically.”
“We have been building a larger investigation team made up of officers across all forces. All forces are contributing to the build of a national team. This is a truly national operation in scale and should be resourced as such.”
Michael Norman, the senior investigating officer, added that police were also looking at “investigators, solicitors, barristers and people within Fujitsu as well”.
“As others [persons of interest] come into scope we will look at those as well, if they become raised to suspect status,” Norman said. “It is very fluid. The issue of corporate liability, corporate culpability, is always open.”
Norman said that to date the police had interviewed three individuals under caution, dating back to 2021, with the most recent in September this year. Clayman said prosecutions would not reach trial until 2027, in part due to the “unprecedented” scale of the investigation, which is reviewing more than 1.5 million documents.
More than 900 post office operators were prosecuted between 1999 and 2015 because of faulty Horizon accounting software that made it look as though they had been committing fraud.
Tŷ Nant, a symbol of Welsh luxury and premium hydration, has announced the strategic acquisition of Fonthill Water and Decantae Mineral Water from the US-based Primo Water Corporation.
Tŷ Nant said the acquisition will elevate its status as one of the UK's leading premium water brands, following closely on the heels of acquiring the premium Welsh water and mixer brand, Llanllyr Source in late 2023.
Primo Water is a leading player in North America's beverage industry with a multi-billion dollar market cap and an EBITDA of $500 million in 2023.
Decantae Mineral Water, known for its pristine quality sourced from the foothills of Snowdonia, has been a leader in the premium bottled water sector in the UK and Europe. The acquisition of Decantae brings new packaging innovations to Tŷ Nant's line-up, including cuplets for travel retail and healthcare, complementing its existing glass and PET bottles.
Fonthill Spring Water, with its origins in the historic Fonthill Bishop Estate in Wiltshire owned by Lord Margadale, is celebrated for its naturally filtered, high-quality spring water. This acquisition not only broadens Tỳ Nant's geographical footprint but also enhances its product range with another iconic British water source and introduces Tŷ Nant to the water cooler market, targeting commercial, educational, and healthcare sectors with its 15L bottles.
Raminder Sidhu, chairman of Tŷ Nant, highlighted the synergy in these acquisitions, stating: “Our commitment to sustainability, innovation, and exceptional customer service aligns perfectly with the ethos of Decantae and Fonthill. These acquisitions are pivotal in our vision to grow our diversified super-premium adult beverage group, where each product carries a deep sense of provenance, alongside our commitment to premium and sustainable offerings.”
In a market increasingly driven by consumer demand for quality and sustainability, Tŷ Nant has been recognised as the UK's fastest-growing bottled water company in the Alantra Fast 50 this year, and ranked as the overall 4th fastest growing food and beverage company in the UK. This recognition is particularly impressive given that Tŷ Nant is already profitable, securing the highest average price per litre among all British mineral and spring water brands.
Looking ahead, Sidhu outlined ambitious plans for 2025. “We are poised for an exciting year continuing the tremendous growth we have experienced for the last four years. We will continue to innovate across our portfolio. We're introducing aluminium bottles and cans as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional packaging and refreshing the 'contemporary classical' look for Llanllyr Source. Moreover, we're set to launch new flavours from our award-winning Kings Hill small batch gin distillery in the Pentland Hills, Edinburgh and we are expanding into 10 new export markets.”
Bira (the), which represents 6,000 independent retailers across the UK, says the extension of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations will finally create a level playing field between high street and online sellers.
"Electrical equipment like vapes are being sold in the UK by producers who are failing to pay their fair share when recycling and reusing of dealing with old or broken items," announced circular economy minister Mary Creagh on December 10. "Today, we're ending this: creating a level playing field for all producers of electronics, to ensure fairness and fund the cost of the treatment of waste electricals.
"As part of our Plan for Change, we are helping UK businesses compete and grow, and we continue to get more households recycling, cracking down on waste and ending the throwaway society."
Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, said: "This marks a significant step towards fairer retail competition. The regulation of online marketplaces for WEEE compliance has been a particular concern in the vaping sector, where we've seen a surge in online sales without corresponding waste management responsibilities. These new rules will ensure all sellers contribute to the environmental costs of their products."
The WEEE directive, which covers all items requiring batteries, solar energy, or electrical current to operate, will now require online retailers to cover disposal costs for products they place on the market. This brings them in line with existing requirements for high street retailers who have long managed these responsibilities.
Jeff Moody, commercial director of Retra, Bira's specialist electrical retail division, added: "The vaping industry exemplifies why these regulations are needed. High street retailers have managed disposal responsibilities while online sellers haven't faced the same obligations. This has created an unfair advantage for online marketplaces, particularly with products like vapes that have significant environmental impact."
The directive, first introduced in 2002 and updated in 2012, places responsibilities on all producers - including manufacturers, importers, distant-sellers, distributors and retailers. These regulations ensure proper disposal and recycling of everything from large household appliances to small electronics, including the growing category of vaping products.
"As part of the Bira group, Retra has long advocated for equal treatment between online and physical retailers," added Mr Moody. "This announcement marks a significant victory for independent retailers who have consistently met their environmental obligations while competing with online sellers operating under different rules."