What to stock this summer, according to Covid-19-led demand

Which products are proving particularly popular at this time, and why?
We are certainly seeing an increase in home cooking from scratch, which means we’re currently meeting an increased demand for fine ingredients and accompaniments like Mutti tomatoes, Kikkoman soy sauce, Cooks&Co and Monini oils, Mary Berry’s sauces and salad dressings, and Very Lazy ready to use garlic. We’re also seeing an increase in home baking, with our Taylor & Colledge baking ingredients range and our Brown & Poulson cornflour also proving highly sought after.

What summer products should be ‘must stock’ items for speciality wholesalers and retailers this year?
With the current movement restrictions likely to continue, at least in some shape or form, for some considerable time, we believe we are going to see an explosion in outside eating and drinking, especially if we get a hot summer.

Here’s some of our top tips for what to stock:
Canned fruit – fabulous for making drinks, cocktails, pavlovas and trifles, our Del Monte range is already proving very popular as the leading quality brand. Expect shoppers to be keen to explore and experiment, for example with Strawberries in Light Syrup, which is perfect for summer baking, as well as wishing to stock up on perennial favourites such as peaches.

Marinades and sauces – great for experimenting with, whether it’s seasoning steak for the BBQ with the finest Japanese Teriyaki from Kikkoman, or trying out something completely new like our Mary Berry’s Mango, Lime & Chilli Dressing, which can be used as a dressing, sauce or marinade and is perfect drizzled over meats, fish, chargrilled Halloumi or vegetable skewers for a tasty new twist.

Pizza ovens – expect a run on ingredients for use in garden pizza ovens, especially if the sun shines. So this means pizza toppings bursting with colour and flavour are likely to be in high demand, including our new Roasted Red & Yellow Peppers or our two-star Great Taste Awards Sweety Drop Peppers.

Healthy summer salads – pulses always get a glowing report from health food writers and influencers at this time of year, so make sure you stock up on the essential beans – borlotti, butter, cannellini – and don’t forget chickpeas.

BBQ – whether it’s the finest hot dogs or pickles from German favourites Meica and Kuhne, or the best quality meat substitutes like Young Green Jackfruit from Cooks&Co, make sure you’re well stocked for the summer BBQ season, which promises to be especially popular this year as we all aim to make the most of the time we’re all going to be spending at home.

Where are shoppers drawing their inspiration from at this time?
We’re seeing a huge increase in traffic to our brand owners’ websites at this time for recipes, including for our own Cooks&Co brand, which has just been relaunched in honour of our new brand makeover. We’ve made sure there are plenty summer recipes on there to help people experiment and enjoy the experience of creating with Cooks&Co during this time.