Trends report 2022

Welcome to our 2022 Trends Report

Our 2022 report explores the trends that have emerged in the last 12 months, how our spending habits have changed as a result of rising energy bills and how we all plan to continue cutting costs where possible. Our survey polled 3,000 people to discover the impact that cooking, baking and cleaning has on their lives. Along with our own customer insight, our report provides an in-depth look at the state of the nation’s homes. We’ve explored how home pizza making has gone from strength-to-strength since its initial popularity during lockdown; how we’ve found comfort in the age-old art of making soup from scratch again; how greener living has come back with a bang; which British bakes have proven to be the most popular, and so much more. It’s always fascinating to learn more about what makes us tick, and our report explores the hot topics of 2022, as well as taking a peek at what 2023 has in store for us all.

Turning off the lights

The average annual electricity and gas bill has gone from £1,223 last summer, to £2,100 this summer and will reach £2,500 by this winter. The vast majority of consumers are, however, already taking direct action – with 89% saying they have taken measures in an attempt to save energy. Asked if they planned to try to save energy over the next 12 months, the figure rises to 92%.

The most common thing that people have done so far? Turned off the lights. With more than eight in ten people saying they have flicked the switch – a considerably more popular move than turning down the thermostat, which experts say is the most effective way to save energy.

People are trying to save energy all around the home, especially in the laundry room and the kitchen, with consumers trying all sorts of tricks to keep cooking costs low. Relying on a clothesline in the sun rather than a tumble dryer to dry clothes is the second most popular option – an easy move when the UK enjoyed a hot, dry summer; harder in winter. Older consumers, perhaps unsurprisingly, seem to be particularly savvy in the kitchen, with a third of those over the age of 55 trying to use their microwave more. Four in ten of this age group have also tried to ensure they cook more than one dish in the oven at the same time – possibly to batch cook something destined for the freezer, as well as a meal for that evening’s dinner.

How have we saved energy?

Turned off the lights 81%

Dried clothes outside 62%

Turned off devices on standby 60%

Filled the kettle with the exact amount of water needed 57%

Turned down the heating thermostat 56%

The products that shaped 2022

WHAT’S HOT?

+94% heated throws

With the cost of living crisis filling the news throughout the year, it’s no surprise that people are looking for cheaper ways to keep warm this winter. And customers appear to be turning to heated throws as an alternative to central heating. Surprisingly, sales grew throughout the hot summer months as customers prepared for colder months ahead.

+54% Remoska

The trend of seeking products to help save money continues, with the Remoska being discovered by a new wave of customers looking to lower their energy bills. What was once a secret to enjoying caravan holidays without the need for a fiddly camping stove is now a popular energy saver, able to make everything a ‘proper’ oven can – at a fraction of the cost.

+51% Air fryers

It seems impossible to scroll through social media these days without a new air fryer hack or recipe popping up. And with so many different types available now – ovens, dual baskets and even ones with rotisseries – more and more people are finding they really can use them in place of their regular oven – another thrifty way to spend smart and live well.

+43% Outdoor Entertaining

Ooni pizza ovens, accessories for creating beautiful outdoor living spaces and our melamine tableware ranges all saw strong growth this year, as the appetite for socialising at home continues. Will this carry on through into next year? The warnings of drier and hotter summers to come certainly suggest so.

+17% Outdoor Drying

As England recorded the driest year (so far) since 1976, as well as the hottest day ever recorded reaching

40°C in July, it made sense to take advantage of the sunny weather and dry our clothes for free. And it seems plenty of people had the same thought, with sales of outdoor drying accessories increasing year on year.

WHAT’S NOT?

-13% yoghurt making

There’s no doubt that thick, creamy, home-made yoghurt is delicious, but with many of us slipping back into busy routines in 2022, it seems shop-bought alternatives are proving a little more convenient.

-38% pasta making

With more time on our hands, making pasta from scratch was a big hit in 2020; but now we’re able to let someone else take care of the cooking by heading back into restaurants, pasta making seems to have reverted to a pastime of budding home chefs.

-5% preserving

Whilst recent months have seen jam making and preserving slip off the boil, perhaps the increasing costs of everyday essentials in the supermarkets will see customers returning to this typically more specialist category in 2023.

Coping with the cost of living crisis

Inflation, the rising cost of food, spending more than £100 to fill up an average-sized car, £2,500 energy bills – 2022 is shaping up to be a very tough year for many consumers. Families that previously never had to seriously consider the price of little luxuries are tightening their belts, while those that were already feeling the pinch are having to make serious sacrifices. A whopping 87% of consumers in Lakeland’s survey said they planned to take action to cut costs in the next 12 months, with the vast majority already having implemented some budget measures this year. The only age category that appears marginally less affected – but only marginally – are those over the age of 65, many of whom will perhaps have paid off their mortgages and possibly have savings, with 79% of this age group saying they were aiming to cut costs. Though older consumers are the most likely to be driving less, with 53% of those over the age of 55 already reducing their car usage this year.

The whole consumer landscape is likely to be profoundly affected in some way, as people take action to spend less money by doing things like cutting back on subscriptions, driving less and batch

cooking more meals. The majority of people (54%) have already cut back on treating themselves – for example buying fewer clothes and eating out less – especially in the North East and Northern Ireland. Around three in ten consumers are buying in bulk and batch cooking, and more than two in ten consumers said they had already cancelled a film or music streaming subscription, with another two in ten saying they are planning to do so over the next 12 months.

Keeping warm

Six in ten consumers intend to turn down the thermostat in the coming 12 months. But how do they intend to keep warm? The most popular option is the good old-fashioned blanket or throw. However there is a huge gender divide. Over half of women (51%) plan to use one, but only 31% of men adopt this tactic. Again, women are far more likely to rely on a hot water bottle; while 46% of women say they expect to use one in the next six months, only 27% of men agree. Young consumers too are particularly fond of the hot water bottle, with 40% planning to use one. The wearable blanket, sometimes called the slanket, and its close cousin the onesie, are remarkably popular. When they first hit the market over a decade ago, they were derided as crimes against fashion, but thanks to a number of celebrities donning these grown-up romper suits, they seem to have finally become accepted. And this winter they could come into their own.

You can even buy plug-in ponchos now – just one of the ways to keep warm while working from home without turning on the heating. At Lakeland, heated throws became an unlikely heatwave hit, with savvy customers preparing in the summer months for rising costs this winter. Sales doubled year on year, with some lines selling out and sales expected to continue to rise this autumn.

Desert island appliance: The microwave

If you could only keep one appliance in your kitchen, what would it be? Could you survive with just a toaster? Or just a kettle? Maybe. One in 12 people said their favourite gadget was a slow cooker. Brilliant for stews, a leg of lamb and even bread, but can it be used it to make a cup of tea?

An amazing 5% of 18 to 24 year olds said they favour a juicer over appliances such as a kettle or coffee machine. Remarkably, 1% of those aged 45 to 54 said they favour a pineapple corer. The pineapple corer, slicer and wedger is an amazing gizmo, true, but it does one, very niche job exceptionally well. It certainly couldn’t rustle you up a quick evening meal – unless it was a piña colada. The winner was, understandably, a microwave. A piece of kit able to boil a cup of water, steam some veg, poach an egg, defrost a casserole, make crispy toasties or even bake a cake.

Get the most out of your microwave oven

Our friends at the MTA (Microwave Technologies Association) have given us some top tips on how to get the most out of your microwave oven – saving you time in the kitchen and money off your energy bills, without skimping on flavour, while shaking off the old fashioned view that they’re only good for heating up ready meals. About two thirds of the energy used to boil veg and fry meat on the stove can be saved when they’re cooked in the microwave instead – going from an average of 40p to cook a meal for a family of four to just 6p.

Think of your microwave oven as your sous chef to help you with prep.

Warm cloves of garlic up for 2-3 seconds and they’ll be so much easier to peel, heat up tomatoes and peppers for 30 seconds apiece to make their skins easier to remove, and double the amount of juice you get from oranges and lemons by putting them in for 30 seconds before squeezing.

Microwave ovens can also help avoid the heartbreak of throwing tasty treats away. Slightly stale dough-based foods, such as bread rolls, doughnuts or pastries can be returned to their original fresh condition by heating one at a time for 10 seconds each.

Top tips for looking after your microwave oven: Keep it clean A dirty mica window (the square ‘patch’ on the side inside, yes that’s what’s that is!) that’s coated in grease, oil and burnt food stops some of the microwave energy passing into your food, making it less efficient.

Allow it to dry inside after use. Rust is a killer of microwave ovens. Drying the inside of it after use will reduce the risk of rust forming.

Ensure it’s well ventilated. So free flowing air can cool its components. Overheating will shorten the life of your microwave oven.

Brilliant or baffling?

Strange but true, there are people who have never even heard of toast tongs, let alone used them. How do they rescue a rogue, squashed hot cross bun from being incinerated? How?! Toast tongs are just one of the many ingenious gadgets that Lakeland sell, a bit of kit that does one job – just one job – very well. But for all the dedicated fans of toast tongs, silicone poach pods and bean slicers, there are some who are a touch baffled by these inventive creations. We asked people which of these gizmos they use all the time, and which they had never even heard of. Maybe it is not surprising that a contraption to do with pizzas was voted Britain’s best clever kitchen gadget. But isn’t it time for banana gizmos to be shown some love? After all, the fruit is Britain’s favourite, the most bought item from nearly all supermarkets. And if you take a banana to work or school, your life will be transformed by a banana guard – a specialist storage container to stop the fruit from becoming bruised or bashed.

Britain’s generational divide: kettles, ovens & corkscrews

Kettles were once ubiquitous in British homes. The ultimate gadget for a tealoving nation. But, remarkably, it would seem that kettles are coming off the boil. Overall, 83% of the nation have a kettle at home – which means that 17% or 4.7 million households do not have one at all.

More than 30% of those under the age of 35 do not own a kettle. Brits once scoffed at Americans for not having kettles, but now it would appear that Gen Z and Millennials no longer bother having a separate gadget for boiling water. Perhaps some younger consumers rely on their microwaves to boil water – those aged 25 to 34 are more likely to own a microwave than a kettle. Or it could be down to the rise of coffee drinking – 45% of the nation own a coffee machine to make their daily fix of caffeine. Or it could be thanks to the rise of hot taps, which provide instant-on boiling water.

Are the young cooling on ovens?

Nearly four in ten (39%) of those aged 25-34 have not used their oven in the last six months. An overwhelming majority (95%) of this age group say that they cook from scratch at least once a week, so it’s not that they hate cooking. But it may mean most of their meals are microwaved. Those aged 65+ are far more reliant on an oven, with 92% saying they have used theirs this year.

How do students cope without a corkscrew?

With only 27% of 18-24 year olds owning a corkscrew, just how are they coping? Well, many of this age group don’t drink alcohol – 26% of 18-24 year olds say they are teetotal. Or maybe wine increasingly sold with screw tops is the answer? By contrast, 81% of those aged 65 and over own and use a trusty corkscrew – leaving them well prepared as corks make a comeback thanks to their CO2 absorbing properties.

Is the pizza oven the new BBQ?

The pizza oven was one of the hits of lockdown. Thanks to clever improvements in the design of outdoor pizza ovens – pioneered by Scottish manufacturers Ooni – it suddenly became possible to recreate the perfect Neapolitan on the smallest of patios. No longer did people need to invest in a huge brick structure and spend hours heating up the oven; great pizza was now possible in as little as 20 minutes. But was the mania for a homemade margherita a flash in the oven? Are pizza ovens going to become like spiralizers – once hugely popular, now mostly confined to the backs of the cupboard?

No! It looks like they have become a permanent feature in many people’s gardens. Overall, 12% of the UK say they now own one, but for those under the age of 35, it’s much higher: 25%. The vast majority of these were bought since the start of the first lockdown in March 2020.

Can it challenge the BBQ? Well, four times as many people own a barbecue. So that looks unlikely, but… people who own a pizza oven are far more committed to it – using it on a more regular basis than those who own a barbecue. Indeed, 43% use their pizza oven three or more times a week. This may explain why pizzas are not the only things cooked in these ovens. All the classic BBQ items such as burgers, sausages, chicken fillets and vegetables are sometimes cooked in pizza ovens, but so too are more unusual items…

• 18% have tried cooking a full breakfast inside a pizza oven.

• 18% have attempted a Christmas meal.

• 19% have tried a hot dessert.

Has our lockdown bread baking continued?

In the depths of lockdown – when a packet of yeast became as valuable a commodity as a toilet roll – bread making became a daily obsession for a dedicated band of consumers. In 2020, 34% said they had tried their hand at it, some on a daily basis. Lakeland calculated that up to 936 million loaves of bread could have been rustled up in people’s kitchens in the six months following the first national lockdown. Two years on, the percentage of people who say they are still baking bread has dipped to 31%. But those who do bake are still pretty committed. Indeed, hardcore fans have increased. Back in 2020, just 4% said they baked six or more loaves a week; that has increased to 8%. Nearly half (46%) bake at least two loaves a week and the average number of loaves people bake is 2.1. That means, in theory, that home cooks have knocked out an astonishing 941 million loaves of bread over the last 12 months.

Victoria sponge reigns supreme in Jubilee year

In the year the nation came together to celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and with the the majority of Brits (56%) taking part in some form of celebration, it’s perhaps not surprising that the traditional Victoria sponge continues to reign supreme in 2022. It remains the cake the nation bakes most often, keeping the number one spot that it gained the first year Lakeland conducted this survey back in 2018. But it might not remain there forever. Bakers aged 18 to 24 said they make chocolate cake most often, while those aged 25 to 44 were split down the middle. Could it be just a matter of time before the younger Brits’ preference for an indulgent chocolate concoction knocks the simple and quintessentially British sponge off the nation’s cake stand?

Where do you get your recipe inspiration?

Last year was the year of TikTok recipes, cloud bread, baked feta, pancake cereal and all manner of cartoonish creations. It seemed impossible to scroll through social media without seeing someone cook a steak in a toaster or make pasta chips in an air fryer. The big #Foodtok stars exploded onto our televisions and signed book deals. But for all the buzz, where are people getting their recipe inspiration from on a day-to-day basis? It remains the oldest of all media: the cookbook. But for how much longer? There is a huge generational divide. Those aged 44 or under chose “online searches” ahead of cookbooks or “my mother” as their source of inspiration. For those under the age of 35, the most popular place to go looking for inspiration for meals was social media. Cookbooks don’t even make it into the top three for those under the age of 25. Perhaps it’s only a matter of time before TikTok topples the humble cookbook. It’s worth noting, however, that one technology seems to have completely failed to take off: voice assistants. Despite the likes of Amazon and Google pumping lots of money into machines that can understand what we say, not many of us want Siri or Alexa to guide us through a casserole. A mere 1% of people (and just 3% of Gen Z) said they turned to a voice

Are we cooking from scratch?

During the lockdowns of 2020 many people re-discovered chopping, stirring, frying and baking, either through necessity or because it was one of the few activities that brought comfort. Cooking from scratch boomed. Understandably, as people return to socialising and working from offices, the number of times we cook from scratch per week has fallen slightly, with 49% saying they do it at least five days a week, down from 56% in 2020. Is this a blip that will be reversed by the cost of living crisis as people return to the cheaper option of cooking for themselves and batch cooking? Or is this a structural change in how we eat at home? Only time will tell…

Super soup!

It’s not sexy, it’s not gone viral and celebrities don’t salivate over it. But soup is a firm favourite among home cooks. Indeed, more people made their own soup last year than baked a cake. Over half of UK consumers (51%) said they made soup from scratch; 44% said they baked a cake. Which is proof, if proof were needed, that social media is not the real world. Over on TikTok, there are an astonishing 51.5 billion #cake videos but only 3.4 billion #soup videos. Many of us love drooling over beautiful sponges and extravagant tortes on social media and tuning into Bake Off or Is it Cake? on the television. But on a weekly basis, in our own kitchens, we turn to the simple pleasures of soup. And why not? As a dish, few things give more bang for their buck. With the cost of living crisis likely to be here for a while, soup is possibly the most nutritious meal you can make on a very tight budget.

The reason given by most consumers as to why they make it? It’s just tastier than buying ready-made. A tin of cream of tomato or a carton of pea and ham just can’t compete with something you’ve made yourself moments before. Just over a quarter of consumers (27%) gave this as their top reason, followed by “it’s healthier than ready-made” (22%) and then “it’s cheaper” (15%). People also said they liked to control the ingredients and reduce food waste.

Soup’s popularity in British kitchens has engendered a glut of soup gadgets. There are fancy soup makers (which combine a cooker with a blender), soup kettles and whizzy specialist processors. But the most popular tool that home cooks use is the stick blender – often inexpensive, small enough to fit into a drawer, easy to wash and quick to use. Nearly half of soup makers (48%) said they used one of these, followed by 37% saying they used a food processor, 18% saying they used a potato masher and a further 17% have invested in a dedicated soup maker.

Green living back on the agenda

The combination of the hottest ever temperatures recorded in the UK, the driest summer for over 100 years and the soaring cost of energy has focused all consumers’ minds on the importance of cutting back in 2022 – cutting back on waste, cutting back on plastic and cutting back on unnecessary chemicals. Last year, Lakeland’s survey showed that consumers had parked some eco-measures. The on-off lockdowns and desire to return to normal life meant that recycling levels fell, and people were more relaxed about wasting food. But this year, green living is back with a bang, and understandably so. Lakeland have been measuring consumers’ attitudes towards various eco-friendly household choices for the last four years. This year – for almost every question asked – people have given the highest positive responses we’ve seen.

Eco-frustrations: cardboard and bags

While more and more consumers want to do their bit to help the planet, sometimes it can be hard to do the right thing. Sometimes because companies make it difficult for us – by using hard-to-recycle packaging, or by claiming something is recyclable when, in fact, many councils will not recycle it. Lakeland’s survey revealed the main annoyance for consumers remains the lack of clarity when it comes to recycling labels, with some bottles or plastic packaging containing three or more different eco labels – none of which actually tell you how to recycle it.

There are two issues that consumers have become far more frustrated about in the last couple of years: the amount of cardboard used by online retailers, and forgetting to bring your bags for life to supermarkets. There are good reasons for this. Since first asking this question two years ago, there has been a boom in online shopping. True, the popularity of internet shopping has fallen from its peak during the height of lockdowns, but the Office for National Statistics calculates that 24.8% of all consumer goods we purchase are now bought online, which is much higher than the 18.3% it was before lockdown. We are ordering far more parcels, and ending up with far more boxes and brown paper in our homes.

The rise of plant milk

There have been many food revolutions over the last generation. But the one that might have surprised our grandparents the most is the rise of plant milk – milk made, not from cows, but from soya, almonds, oats, even from hemp or potatoes. Walk into a café in certain British cities and ask for a cappuccino or flat white and they will ask: “And is that with dairy or non-dairy milk?” Milkmen even now deliver oat milk alongside their usual pintas.

But is the trend an entirely urban phenomenon, limited to a few young people? No. Lakeland’s survey shows that well over a third of the population (36%) have tried non-dairy milk in the last six months. That is a huge number, especially when the Vegan Society suggests at most just 2% of the UK population is vegan.

Yes, younger people are more likely to have drunk plant milk – over half of those under the age of 35 have done so this year, compared with 17% of those aged over 65. And, yes, over half (54%) of Londoners have tried it, but no area of the country records a figure lower than 30%, with one in three Scots and one in three Northern Irish consumers among the least enthusiastic drinkers. Possibly the most surprising divide is a gender one. Women are significantly bigger consumers of plant milk, with 41% trying it this year vs 31% of men.

What type of Christmas will we have?

Christmas, for those who celebrate it, is often a time of excess. A few days when, come what may, presents are exchanged, decorations hung, and a lavish spread put on. But it looks like the cost of living crisis will hit yuletide festivities. Yes, the majority (53%) say they will spend about the same as usual – though with inflation at a 40-year-high that does mean people will end up with less food, drink and pressies for the same amount of money. Although a far greater number of consumers say they will cut back (35%) compared to those who say they will spend more than usual (8%). So, how do people intend to trim their tree or prune their presents? Well, it would appear that Santa might not be quite so busy, with 55% saying they will give fewer gifts.

Alcohol-free Britain

Along with plant milk, one of the other more surprising trends of the last decade has been mindful drinking. An increasing number of Brits do not want to drink alcohol. And those that do drink alcohol are likely to be cutting back. Between 2006 and 2016, the Office for National Statistics found that the percentage of people who had had a drink in the previous week fell from 63% to 57%. Unfortunately, the ONS no longer tracks alcohol consumption.

Lakeland’s survey, however, shows that one in five consumers are teetotal and a further 34% have cut back on their alcohol consumption this year. This trend is particularly pronounced among 25 to 44 year olds, where four in ten say they have cut back this year.

Cocktail Britain

But while many want to cut back on the booze, there are still plenty enjoying the occasional tipple. Cocktails in particular enjoyed a boom in lockdown. Mixing a martini or whipping up a whisky sour often became the only way to distinguish between the end of the working day and the start of the evening. Some of the world’s best bars started selling cocktail kits for home consumption.

Have these habits continued? Yes, a bit. A quarter of the nation says they have made an alcoholic cocktail this year. Mostly it’s a fairly infrequent occurrence – people brandishing a cocktail shaker tend to do so once a week – or less. Young people are the keenest, however, with three in ten under the age of 45 making an alcoholic cocktail this year, rising to 44% for those under the age of 25.

But for a small niche group of consumers, cocktails are a very big deal. So much so that they have invested in a bar. Yes, 21% of consumers have built or bought a bar either for their garden, sitting room or kitchen in order to jazz up their cocktail hour. Sometimes all you need is a shelf or a trolley to transform a random collection of bottles and glasses into something that wouldn’t look out of place in a classy hotel.

Trends to look out for in 2023

Dry:Soon Heated Airers

With the cost of living rising at a pace, consumers are hungry to find new and creative ways to prevent their energy bills soaring any higher. We’ve sold our Dry:Soon Heated Airers for years, but in the coming months, it’s looking like they’re going to be more popular than ever; so we’re adding more accessories to our range to help customers get the most out of theirs. Perfect if you can’t dry your clothes outside but don’t want to use your tumble dryer, they’re more economical than leaving the central heating on, and cost pennies to run*.

Batch cooking

The price of gas and electricity is increasing faster than ever before, so our energy-efficient slow cookers and soup makers will really come into their own next year. Great for saving time, money and food, batch cooking is an easy way to use leftovers to make healthy, wholesome winter dishes and keep waste to a minimum. And of course, a good set of knives is a necessity in any kitchen, which is why we’re introducing three new ranges to help customers find the perfect set to use for years – or decades – to come.

Eco cleaning that’s worktop worthy

Eco cleaning has become increasingly popular over the last few years and there’s no sign of its popularity waning. But it’s clear that customers don’t just want cleaning products that will help save the planet – they need them to match the results of their favourite, not so eco-friendly, cleaning products too. And not only that, if they decide to leave them out on the worktop, they want them to look like they belong there, and not in the back of the cupboard.

A nation of pet lovers

Lots of people invited new pets into their home during lockdown, but are now looking for ways to keep their new-found furry friends, and home, as clean as possible! With a little help from our anti hair wrap vacuums and effective stain removers, we’ve got all the kit to keep your house ship shape and are expanding our ranges to keep up with demand from customers.

Outdoor cleaning range

Keeping your garden clean is just as important as keeping your house clean – especially as outdoor entertaining continues to grow in popularity. From our pet- and child friendly Artificial Grass Cleaner, to our Rust Remover to keep BBQs and fire pits looking like new, we’re introducing a whole new range of outdoor furniture cleaners. Taking pride in your garden will have never been so easy.

Picnics

The good old fashioned picnic is here to stay, and we expect the nation’s rediscovered love of staycations to continue to drive demand for products that help you picnic in style. Thanks to new products such as our Picnic Cart, with sturdy wheels to carry up to 80kg, it’s never been easier to up your picnic game – taking your pizza oven to the beach just got a whole lot easier!

*Exact cost per hour dependent on domestic electricity prices at time of use.

Survey carried out by Dynata, July 2022