Chilli Peppers Sales Up 42% in UK in Last Two Years – TNS

Tesco caters for all tastes in its chilli range but its biggest sellers by far are the super strong Scotch Bonnet or Habanero variety, and the mind blowingly scorching Dorset Naga which was trialled last year and sold out within a week.

09/07/09 Brits are going absolutely bonkers for sweat inducing hot chilli peppers in order to spice up their food, latest sales stats can reveal.

So great is the demand that UK sales of chilli peppers in the last two years have rocketed by 42 per cent across all retailers according to independent retail analysts TNS.

Demand is so strong that this week Tesco will double its range to 10 varieties which include the legendary world’s hottest, the Dorset Naga.

And it has also created a mini industry with increasing numbers of British farmers now turning to grow them as a cash crop.

Said Tesco chilli buyer Sam Wright: “Brits are often derided by our neighbours on the continent as being lovers of bland food but our tastes are spicing up so much that soon we’ll be known as Europe’s number one hot food fans.

“In the last few years we have seen phenomenal demand for really hot chilli peppers and from once being a cult food sold mainly in areas with high ethnic populations it is now popular across the UK.

“But when you think about how the British palate is changing thanks to our multiculturism and subsequent love of Indian, Chinese, Thai, Caribbean and other exotic cuisines a UK chilli market was bound to happen sooner rather than later.

Tesco caters for all tastes in its chilli range but its biggest sellers by far are the super strong Scotch Bonnet or Habanero variety, and the mind blowingly scorching Dorset Naga which was trialled last year and sold out within a week.

Others in the range include the cherry bomb, jalapeno, green, red, traffic lights, bird’s eye, finger, and stuffing chillis.

A few years ago Tesco stocked just basic Thai red and green chillis, jalapenos and Scotch Bonnets.

Last year it added the Dorset Naga and its amazing popularity has prompted the supermarket to now stock a full range of peppers offering different levels of heat intensity with a potency warning on each packet.

Added Tesco’s Sam Wright: “Chilli pepper culture in the UK has really come on in the last few years and they are no longer thought of as a culinary novelty.

“In the past we used to primarily stock chilli peppers in areas where there was a large Afro-Caribbean or Asian community but nowadays we sell them in stores right across Britain.

“One of the biggest misconceptions about chillis is that they are bad for you but the opposite is true and eaten in moderation they can be beneficial to help the body sweat out toxins.”