Single-price discounter 99p Stores enjoyed the sweet taste of success in the run-up to Christmas after shifting 80,000 Matthew Walker Christmas puddings.

With the average price at £3.99 for the 454g line at the multiples, the deal caused a stir on online money saving forums, with one user on HotdealsUK posting: “Really good Christmas puds. Cheaper than any I’ve seen on sale. They have piles of them near the tills.” 99p Stores commercial director Hussein Lalani said: “We were proud of that one. They were on sale at Holland & Barrett for £5.99.”

A spokeswoman for Matthew Walker added it had no say over what stock was sold on to third parties and suggested the puds may have been from 2009 with a two year shelf-life. Owner Northern Foods said this week it sold a total of 19 million Matthew Walker puddings in the last quarter of 2010, bolstered by high demand for Waitrose Heston Blumenthal’s Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding.