How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed Christmas planning for 2020?

We have seen a 60% increase in online shopping especially in the food and drink industries and this trend is going to continue, especially in the lead up to the festive season.

New retail figures have shown that consumers in their thousands have turned to online suppliers for their produce during and since the Covid-19 pandemic. There has been a hefty overall increase in sales across Britain, but the increase seen by independent suppliers was even more dramatic. This has helped to partly offset the loss of important markets for meat and game in restaurants, hotels and catering.

Sales of beef, for instance, were up by 26.9% overall when compared to last year, but the figure was almost double at online butchers – increasing by 49.1%.

Pork showed a similar pattern of a 48.4% jump in sales at specialist online independent stores compared with a 24.2% overall increase.

There has also been a healthy growth for venison and game across the online retail sector.

Lamb sales were flat in supermarkets during Easter and Ramadan, which both fell during lockdown leading to fewer purchases of roasting joints for family occasions, but online butchers’ shops saw a 24.9% increase compared to 2019.

With the majority of households spending Christmas dining at home this year online sales are due to dramatically increase in the lead up to Christmas and New year.

This has led to an increased demand for Sorbafreeze chilled packaging with resilient producers finding a new route to market- consumer doorstep deliveries.

Many businesses up and down the country including farm shops through to artisan food producers, national distributors, wholesalers and catering firms have recently looked at their business models and very quickly evolved. Our specialist chilled packaging products, which guarantee your products arrive temperature safe in pristine condition, are aiding many in the food and drinks sector to do just that. No more so than for the Christmas market.

As the UK’s leading manufacturer of insulated boxes and ice packs for the food and drink industry, Sorbafreeze have expanded their production team and manufacturing capacity to meet this growing demand for door to door delivery for Christmas.

We are the only BRCGS certified chilled packaging supplier in the UK reflecting our standards of quality and safety. By manufacturing everything in-house, we reduce customer costs and minimise product lead times.

We understand the time pressures of production and now with staffing gaps due to furlough further adding to this a bespoke insulated packaging project may seem too time consuming to consider but we have simplified this procurement process and can have your bespoke branded insulated packaging dispatched within 10 working days from sign off of artwork.

This is allowing the food and drink industry to meet the new demands of customers effectively and professionally and encouraging growth via this new route to market.

In addition we can offer a versatile range of off the shelf chilled packaging products which are available for next day delivery.

Let us help you be prepared for the extra Christmas demand. We urge you to get in touch with us now to help create the perfect chilled packaging solution to allow your business distribute temperature safe via standard couriers and capture your share of the Christmas market.

Just pick up the phone 01592 623523 or email solutions@sorbafreeze.com. The team at Sorbafreeze are here to help with all your bespoke, branded, Christmas packaging.