Luxury is back on the menu

Blog by: Rebecca Atkinson on Nov 9th, 2009

Apparently, indulgence is back at the checkouts. After months of buying economy tinned tomatoes and packets of lentils, shoppers are supposedly once again popping luxuries such as 
organic produce, ready-made meals and ground 
coffee into their trolleys.

According to Tesco, sales of its premium-priced 
Finest range are increasing again after a year of 
decline, while Waitrose reports a 50% jump in 
organic fish sales. And while last year saw budget 
supermarkets such as Lidl and Aldi enjoy huge 
increases in sales, thanks to households trading down, old favourites like Sainsbury’s and even Waitrose are now back in the game. The latter has seen its annual sales growth rise from 3.4% 
between July and September last year, to 11.2% this year.

The reason indulgence is back on the menu is partly down to the marketing ploys of the 
supermarkets themselves. Jamie Oliver has been 
propagating ways to feed your family for a fiver in Sainsbury’s current advertising campaign, while Marks & Spencer and Tesco have 
promoted ‘meal deals’ where two people can enjoy a meal of three courses plus wine for just £10. Waitrose, meanwhile, has launched its first-ever budget range.

But the shift away from frugal food 
shopping also suggests that many of us are ready to move on from the recession, even though the return to economic prosperity still seems a long way off.

Although no one 
expects things to return to the days of 
unbridled consumerism, we all enjoy a little 
luxury. By using our money carefully most of the time, we can afford to forget all-out austerity and reintroduce a little frivolity into our lives.

So, continuing to make my own packed lunch means I might just treat 
myself to an organic steak at the weekend.

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