Christmas 2025: A boost for butter and is lamb the new turkey?

Grocery sales reached a record £13.8bn this Christmas, with shoppers spending on average £476 at supermarkets during the festive month. We've analysed the data, which reveals some surprising trends.

As forecasted back in December, despite nearly half of consumers claiming they were planning to cut back on Christmas spending, food remained a protected spend in the eyes of consumers¹ and total grocery volumes were up 1.1%.²

Total meat, fish and poultry (MFP) volumes were up 0.8%,² with festive red meat cuts performing particularly well – outperforming the total grocery market.

Surprisingly, turkey was the clear casualty this Christmas, as shoppers cut back on whole birds and primary cuts. As a result, primary volumes declined by 12.0% year-on-year.

Pork and lamb proved popular

Instead, lamb was the runaway success, despite reduced demand throughout much of 2025.

In the prime Christmas shopping weeks (two w/e 28 December 2025), leg roasting joints drove overall lamb performance, with a 24.7% increase in volumes purchased.

Targeted promotions were particularly effective, as shoppers clearly responded to value-led deals and the promise of a festive centrepiece.

Sales of beef roasting joints were up 8.6% and pork shoulder roasting joints performed especially well, with volumes purchased increasing by 43.7% over the same period.

Dairy key for Christmas celebrations

There were an additional 504,000 occasions where cheese was purchased during the run-up to Christmas 2025.

Cow cheese had a particularly successful Christmas, with total volumes up by 4.4% year-on-year.

Cheddar (+6.3%), Stilton and British blue (+0.8%), and snacking cheeses (+26.7%) all contributed to this growth, likely used on cheeseboards, which we predicted would be an important part of celebrations for a third of consumers.

As a key accompaniment to many Christmas desserts, it’s no surprise that cow's cream was also a standout performer for dairy, with volumes purchased increasing by 1.6%.

Cow's butter had an even better year, with volumes up by 3.4%. This was driven by sales of blocks, which saw volumes increase by 6.9%, perhaps being used with crackers on cheeseboards or in festive baking recipes.

Retail and Consumer Insight Analyst, Charlotte Forkes-Rees, said:

“It’s clear that Brits are not yet bored of the cheeseboard, but the red meat performance this season suggests that consumers are changing up their Christmas centrepieces, and we expect more people to explore alternatives to turkey in 2026.

“In December 2025, premium own-label products were present in 92% of shoppers’ baskets², highlighting that at Christmas, shoppers are willing to splurge on a treat.

“When promoting their premium ranges, retailers should ensure they emphasise indulgence and added value to encourage consumers to spend that little bit more.”

¹ Sparkminds, November 2025

² Worldpanel by Numerator, 4 w/e 28 December 2025