Waitrose is hoping to make summer 2026 the season of upgraded barbecues, deli-style sharing and global-inspired grazing, with more than 120 new products landing in stores across the range. The retailer says demand is already building fast, with searches for barbecue recipes up 170% week on week and picky bits interest also climbing, as shoppers look to make more of eating at home in warmer weather.
The Grocer’s barbecue category report found Brits ate 136.7 million barbecue meals with a year-on-year increase of 18.9% and the highest number since 2020. A Compleat Food Group poll revealed last year that 43% of shoppers buy premium lines only for barbecues. The retailer’s premium-tier range is in for growth as shoppers trade up for steaks, sausages and marinated cuts at home. The barbecue sector is benefiting from the decline in eating out, which 38% of Brits did less of last year.
Barbecue has been pushed further into premium territory, with Waitrose doubling its No.1 BBQ offer and leaning into Americana, Korean and Mediterranean flavours across steaks, ribs, chicken and skewers. Meanwhile, deli and picnic food are doing more of the work, with a larger lineup of dips, olives, burrata, charcuterie and dressed salads.
“This year’s summer range is inspired by the global reach that foods have and fusions we know our customers love,” says Waitrose director of own brand Maddy Wilson.
“Whether they are putting on a spread for guests, pimping up a simple salad for lunch or bringing out the very best for their barbecues, this is a range that allows our customers to get creative this summer and elevate those feasting moments to create a season worth celebrating.”
Barbecue
No.1 Thick Cut Rump Steak with Barbecue Glaze
£14/475g
Tumbled in barbecue spices, and comes with a sachet of “smoky-sweet” barbecue glaze enriched with beef dripping for an intense savoury flavour.
Texan Style BBQ Chicken Burnt Ends
£5/450g
Twist on a classic, with chicken drumstick meat coated in a Texan-style BBQ glaze. Waitrose suggests crisping them up in the air fryer or oven and pouring over the mop sauce for the last five minutes
Thick Cut BBQ Pork Loin Steaks
£5/340g
Two thick-cut pork loin steaks, coated in a rub of maple, black pepper and jalapeño. Instructions suggest that once seared, they should be finished with the candied jalapeño glaze.
No.1 Curried Spatchcock with Coronation Sauce, Coriander & Coconut Sprinkle
£15/1920g
Whole chicken in a curry-spiced glaze, sprinkled with Bombay style onions that char a little in the oven, and a coronation sauce to drizzle over the meat, made with mango and spiced with coriander, cumin and ginger.
Oak Smoked BBQ Beef Burgers
£5/454g
British beef, oak-smoked and combined with a hickory Memphis-style BBQ sauce.
No.1 Pork & Wagyu Beef Hot Links Sausages
£7/400g
Made with a mix of free range British pork and British wagyu beef, and spiced with chilli, paprika and nutmeg.
Prawn Kebabs with Creole Sauce
£5/163g
King prawns, skewered by hand and topped with herbs, a Creole sauce made with chilli, sweet peppers and garlic.
Herby Halloumi Kebabs
£5/240g
Giant halloumi kebabs made with Halloumi PDO cheese and marinated in a mix of oregano, parsley and lemon.
Picky Bits
No.1 Labneh Tzatziki Sharing Dip
£5/300g
Inspired by the classic Greek yogurt and cucumber dip, but with labneh. Topped with a salad of semi-dried tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and mint.
No.1 Houmous with Roasted Butternut & Dukkah Sharing Dip
£5/300g
Moroccan inspired flavours in houmous. Enriched with extra virgin olive oil and topped with spiced, roasted butternut squash, pumpkin seeds and pine nuts, finished with a dukkah spice blend with cumin and paprika.
No.1 Fire Roasted Red Pepper Dip
£5/300g
Made with red peppers roasted with sunflower seeds and topped with herby chickpeas and crunchy seeds in a Middle Eastern style dressing of coriander, sumac and cumin.
No.1 French Petit Lucques Olives
£4/110g
A speciality of the Languedoc region of France, and so prized that they’re known as ‘green diamonds’.
Greek Grilled Halkidiki Olives
£4/110g
Stuffed with sweet red pepper and grilled.
No.1 Black Garlic Chorizo with Wildflower Honey
£5/230g
Mini chorizo sausages, made in Spain, infused with mellow black garlic and finished with wildflower honey.
Smoky Scamorza Cheese Arancini
£4/200g
Sicilian-inspired and made with arborio rice seasoned with smoked salt, parsley and oregano and wrapped in ciabatta style breadcrumbs. Filled with a smoky scamorza and mature cheddar centre.
No.1 Burrata with Roasted Aubergine Caponata
£5/370g
Burrata with the sweet and tangy flavours of caponata, a Sicilian inspired salad of aubergines, tomatoes, Cuquillo olives, raisins, courgettes and capers.
No.1 Cornish Crab Topper
£7.50/170g
Brown crab meat mixed with crème fraîche and lemon, and topped with white crab meat.
No.1 2 Hollandaise Hot Smoked Salmon Quiches
£5.50/260g
Filled with Hollandaise sauce with lemon zest and dill, and finished by hand with flakes of hot smoked Scottish salmon. The shortcrust pastry cases are made with brown butter.
Thai Green Chicken Meatballs
£3.75/180g
Thai-inspired chicken meatballs made with thigh meat, brown rice and edamame beans. Flavoured with green curry paste, lemongrass, coriander and spring onion.
Coronation Chicken Pastries
£4/100g
Hand-folded pastry parcels packed with chicken thigh in a curried sauce, with sweet apricots, sultanas and a sprinkle of coriander.
No.1 Coronation Cornish Crab & Prawn Cocktail
£5.50/170g
Prawns and Cornish crab in a curry mayonnaise.
Desserts
No.1 2 Alphonso Mango Desserts
£7.50/148g
The realistic shell is smooth cocoa confectionery and inside is a mousse made with Alphonso mango purée, topped with a layer of passion fruit and mango curd. All set on a white chocolate base.
Secret Centre Strawberries
£4.50/2x74g
Strawberry mousse with a strawberry compôte centre, on a white chocolate and digestive biscuit base. Topped with strawberry mousse and wrapped around a hidden strawberry compôte centre.
No.1 Madagascan Vanilla & British Blackcurrant Ripple Ice Cream
£4.40/480ml
Made with West Country cream and rippled with a blackcurrant sauce – made with Madagascan vanilla.
No.1 Mascarpone & Sicilian Lemon Ice Cream
£4.40/480ml
Made with West Country cream, mascarpone and lemon curd.
No comments yet