Peanut butter set to overtake jam as popular breakfast spread

Peanut butter is set to overtake jam as Britain's favourite breakfast spread after a backlash against sugary foods, figures show.

Sales of the nut-based spread were up by nearly a fifth last year and are set to break through the £100 million barrier in 2018, thanks to the introduction of new "healthy" upmarket versions.

However its popularity appears to be helping push traditional jam off the breakfast table, supermarket data collected by Kantar Worldpanel shows. 

Jam, which typically contains around 10g of sugar per tablespoon, was the only spread which saw sales dip last year, according to the latest industry stats, falling by 2.9 per cent to £106 million in 2017.

Sweet spreads are being targeted by Public Health England's sugar reduction plan which is aiming to reduce the amount of sugar in the foods that contribute most to children’s intakes by 20 per cent by 2020.

But as consumers turned away from jam peanut butter sales soared by 17 per cent to almost £94 million, meaning sales are set to eclipse the once-untouchable spread this year. 

Meanwhile marmalade sales were helped by its biggest fan in the hit film Paddington 2, with sales rising by 2.9 per cent to £54.5 million in 2017.

The growth came in contrast to previous years in which the condiment's popularity has sharply declined due to its "uncool" reputation among young adults and teenagers. 

Peanut butter's success was driven by the growth of more expensive brands that are lower in sugar, more organic and less likely to use palm oil as an ingredient, Kantar said.

Brands at the top end of the market include Whole Earth, Meridian, Manilife and Pip & Nut while some supermarkets have introduced their own premium ranges of peanut butters.

Whole Earth and Meridian sales are among the biggest of any spread brands in the UK, the Grocer found. 

The whole market for spreads is now over half a billion pounds, at £512.4 million, a six per cent rise in value on the previous 12 months but also a 1.7 per cent rise in volume.

Some of the rise in prices is down to more expensive versions being bought but another factor is the reduction in supermarkets of special price promotions.