Lurpak has knocked Flora off the top spot in the butter and spreads category after an almost 20-year reign, signalling a switch in consumer demand for natural rather than manufactured fats.
The Arla-owned brand clocked up sales of £182.2m for the year to 11 August, up 10.6%, according to IRI. It edged ahead of arch-rival Flora by £4.6m after the Unilever-owned brand dropped 0.2% to £177.6m for the same period. Anchor trailed in third place with £75.6m of sales.
Arla put the victory down to product innovation, but highlighted its current £13m marketing push.
"Consumers are not willing to sacrifice on taste and want natural products that are created by cows and not chemists," said Lurpak brand manager Jessica Hardcastle.
By individual brands, Lurpak Spreadable was the best-performing product, with annual sales worth £100m, a 10% increase compared with last year, according to new IRI figures. Sales of nearest rival Clover dropped 4% to £62m.
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