News from Ocado

‘IN’ IS THE NEW ‘OUT’
Brits Replicate Restaurant Dinners At Home

(November 04, 2008) Figures released today reveal Britons are beating the ‘Crunch’ by switching from eating out to whipping up gourmet meals in the kitchen.

Online grocer Ocado analysed the shopping baskets of one million of its registered customers and noted a surge in people buying premium meat cuts - featuring highly were veal escallops, up some 30%, and sirloin steak, up over 50%.

Quality ingredients are being washed down with higher value wines, with a 15% increase in consumers paying between £10 and £15 a bottle, versus a 15% decline in bottles under £5.

Across the board there has been a 15% in sales of cooking ingredients, pointing to a firm rise in ‘scratch cooking.’ Chopped tomatoes have shot up 129% and fresh cooking sauces are up by 165%. Conversely ready meals have fallen by 5%.

Other notable changes in the make-up of UK shopping baskets include:

Luxury ice-cream and sticky toffee pudding sales – up 42% and 159% respectively, suggesting customers are further enhancing their ‘dining in’ experience with indulgent desserts

Organic sales – slid to 13% of the average shopping basket in the summer (their lowest rate since 2005) but are buoyant again at 14.5%

London organic capital of the UK - Londoners fill 17% of their shopping basket with organic produce, compared to 14% nationally

The residents of Notting Hill aren’t reigning in their tastes – they’re ordering five times more Champagne than the rest of the UK and spending an additional £8 per bottle.



Editors’ Notes:

1- All figures detailed represent year-on-year, 2007-08

About Ocado:

Ocado (http://www.ocado.com/) was established in 2000, started trading in 2002 and is now one of Britain’s leading online grocers. Unlike its competitors, Ocado operates a centralised distribution model which means that it does not rely upon a network of stores from which to service customers. This approach has numerous benefits including, not least, a significantly reduced environmental impact. Ocado boasts over 15,000 product lines including Waitrose and John Lewis-branded goods; most recently it has launched non-food lines such as toys, magazines and fresh flowers.