For the love of the taste or just a festive habit – where do you stand on a good old mince pie? (2024)

Confession time. I bought my first box just after bonfire night; I’m a sucker for a deep filled, my husband’s partial to a puff pastry lid and we must consume at least six packs between us across the festive season. And it turns out we are not alone! With the national average for mince pie devourment sitting at a hefty 19 per person¹, and total UK annual consumption estimates sitting somewhere between 800m and a staggering 1 billion², it’s clear that we’re a nation of mince pie lovers.

Or are we?

A recent enquiry from a journalist for The Times, looking for insights to support the hypothesis that mince pies are falling out of favour in Britain, has led us to examine this very (tasty) subject. A quick straw poll in the office highlighted some immediate differences, particularly amongst passionate pie-people like me and some younger colleagues who had, to my horror, never even tried a mince pie! We then turned to our online panel, Opinion Exchange, to get some insight from more than 1,000 consumers on this festive treat.

Although the intention to purchase mince pies is strong when compared to other festive staples such as Christmas puddings and fruit cake, with seven out of ten UK adults intending to buy this year, this is undoubtedly driven by older consumers; over three quarters of adults 60+ plan to purchase mince pies over the festive period compared to just two thirds of under 36 year olds. However, in contrast it appears that the enjoyment of this humble pastry might actually decrease with age.

When asked to rank mince pies on a, very scientific, ‘deliciousness’ scale, almost half of under 36 year olds gave them the top score of 5 out of 5 compared to only two fifths of 60+; surprisingly perhaps, the top consumers don’t appear to be their biggest fans.

Might it be that older generations buy mince pies more out of habit and Christmas tradition than actual enjoyment? Could there be an age at which one hits, perish the thought, mince pie fatigue? Or perhaps younger consumers are trying more varieties and flavours which helps boost their ’deliciousness’ score? Certainly lots of interesting food for thought.

Check out our infographic for some more mince pie insights and why not float the “to pie or not to pie” debate amongst your friends and family this festive season – you may be surprised at what you hear!

If you’d like to find out more about this, or any other food and drink related research, don’t hesitate to contact us – we’re always keen to explore a new and tasty topic.

For more mince pie facts (or other food & drink or retail insight needs!) please contact: Gill Redfern, Research Director gredfern@djsresearch.com

¹ Nations Mince Pie eating habits revealed: The South-West scoffs the most mince pies in the UK – Taste at 55
² 14 Festive Facts about Mince Pies – Fact City

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