Text entered

Pies En Vogue as London Fashion Week 2011 opens its doors

Sainsbury

18 February 2011

Going from grub to gourmet as the ‘fashion pack' sets their eye firmly on the pie!
Forget clutching the latest handbag, heels or Lady Gaga style clip-on fringe - the humble pie is proving to be the number one accessory at catwalk events across the capital this year.
Contrary to runway reality, a recent survey commissioned by Sainsbury's has unveiled how the UK's fashionistas are more likely to reach for a pie on a weekly basis compared to those who aren't interested in fashion. It seems this new generation of on-trend, discerning pastry fans is driving the pie from grub to gourmet.
According to those polled, it seems pies are this year's flavour du jour, and it's all down to the inclusion of this most retro of British dishes on the menus at the capital's hottest eateries* including Hix, The Ivy and Bull & Last. Interestingly, almost two-thirds of Brits described pies as British (60%) and Traditional (61%). Recognising the rise of the pie, almost twice as many fashionistas classed pies as a trendy food choice versus the national average.
These fashion-conscious Brits also showed that while sushi was considered the trendiest food choice, over a fifth (22%) would be more likely to choose a tasty pie after a hard day's graft compared with a wafer-thin 5% who would choose sushi.
Doing away with the perception of waif-like models nibbling at morsels, almost half (49%) of size 10 and below females said they eat at least one savoury pie per month, along with 63% of Brits overall.
As predicted by retail experts Mintel and key trend setters 2011** is set to be the ‘Year of the Pie', and almost a quarter (23%) of ‘fashionistas' surveyed recognised the rise in popularity of the pie compared to 3 years ago.
Nicola Williamson, Sainsbury's Pie Buyer said: "Pies have always been part of the UK's staple diet, but we're seeing more demand for a wider variety of flavours, which we put down to them becoming a regular feature on the gourmet restaurant menu, and people's ever increasing appetite for new culinary experiences. The great thing is, now people can enjoy the new flavours in their own homes, or even on their lunch-break as Britain continues to fly the foodie flag. It's great to see fashion conscious women embracing the trend of pies, especially as we've developed many of our new recipes with them in mind!"
From a list of conventional pie flavours, Brits voted the top five flavours they would most like to try eat as:
* Pies on the menu:
**2011 the year of the Pie as predicted by Andrew Freeman of AF&Co. Hospitality and Leisure Consultants
EnquiriesFor more information please contact the press office on 020 7695 7295. To find out the latest from Sainsbury's you can also follow J Sainsbury plc on Twitter.Notes to editorsAll figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc, who was commissioned to undertake research on behalf of Sainsbury's.  Total sample size was 2000 adults in all social groups and ages. Fieldwork was undertaken between 9th and 11th February 2011.  The survey was carried out online.
Sainsbury's
Back to news