Lidl’s share in bakery has nearly doubled in about a year, to make it market leader in the category.
Its bakery share shot from 10.6% in January 2023 – when it was fifth in the market – to 18.2%, in the number one spot, by March this year, according to Kantar. It means Lidl is ahead of much bigger supermarkets including Tesco and Sainsbury’s in bakery.
The discounter has been leaning heavily on bakery promotions in its Lidl Plus loyalty app, which has been credited by analysts with helping it grow faster than Aldi over the past six months.
Lidl Plus users were rewarded with a free bakery item with every shop during February this year. They also got discounts on further bakery purchases, while signs in stores highlighted the giveaway to encourage more sign-ups to the app. It was seen by analysts as a shrewd way of leveraging a proposition Aldi does not have. While Lidl has bakeries across its estate, Aldi has them in only 16 of its 1,000-plus UK stores.
Read more: What has happened to Aldi’s stratospheric growth story?
Lidl’s sales were up 8.8% year on year in Kantar’s latest 12-week period, to 17 March 2024, while Aldi’s climbed 3.1%, against total market growth of 4.2%.
Lidl’s sales growth was “helped by a 24% rise in sales of baked goods”, according to Kantar.
Lidl said its most popular product, the All Butter Croissant, sold an average of 122 a minute. Meanwhile, Lidl’s Demi Baguette, Jam Filled Doughnut, and Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant all sold at a rate of one every second between 1 January and 31 March this year, according to the supermarket.
“At Lidl, we’re always offering customers a taste of the best products possible, for a fraction of the price – and nowhere is this clearer than in our industry-leading bakery,” said Lidl GB senior buying director Scott Davey.
“Whether customers are popping in for a croissant or trying out one of our innovative Special Guests, it’s clear our bakery offering is winning over the nation’s bakery popularity contest.”
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