Tinned tuna maker Princes has reported a surge in demand for canned food from Britons stockpiling essentials in response to the Government's Be Ready campaign.
The Liverpool-based group, which also owns the Napolina brand, said demand for products such as tinned fish, meat and vegetables has risen since the public awareness campaign was launched on October 22. The campaign encourages households to prepare for up to three days in the event of disruption to essential services.
Grocery sales jump after campaign launch
Industry data from Worldpanel, also released on Tuesday, showed sales of essentials jumped across the grocery sector following the Government advice. Sales of hand sanitiser rose 83% year-on-year in the 10 days after the campaign, while bottled water sales increased 67% and tinned and jarred goods rose 37%.
Worldpanel said the number of people buying tinned meat each day after the launch rose by 43%, equivalent to an extra 400,000 shoppers a day.
Price rises support sales growth
Giuseppe Mastrolia, interim chief executive of Princes Group, said: "The increase in demand for our ambient food products following the UK Government's Be Ready campaign further reinforces the relevance of our core categories in providing affordable, nutritious and convenient food solutions."
Price hikes helped the firm's like-for-like sales rise 3.3% in its third quarter to September 30, as the group passed on higher costs amid rising inflation linked to the Iran war. Around 70% of the third-quarter sales performance came from price increases in July.
The group said it was starting talks with customers to push through further price rises to counter extra cost inflation. "We continue to take proactive measures to protect profitability, through disciplined pricing and further customer negotiations to recover rising costs," Mr Mastrolia said.
Princes Group has confirmed plans to list on the London market later this month with a reported £1.5 billion valuation.
