As New Zealanders around the country are preparing for the Easter holidays, Countdown expects that customers will munch their way through 12.5 million hot cross buns. We’re set to eat the equivalent of 23,200 chilly bins full of chocolate eggs, with marshmallow eggs being our clear favourite. Countdown also anticipates selling 89,000 kg of the famous chocolate bunny, which is the equivalent weight of approximately 65,000 real rabbits.
A breakdown of some of our favourite Easter treats are:
- Marshmallow eggs are Kiwis’ favourite Easter egg, closely followed by traditional boxed hollow eggs and the iconic chocolate bunny.
- Kiwis are set to eat the equivalent of 135 Toyota Corolla cars of marshmallow eggs.
- This year, Countdown customers will consume the equivalent of 23,200 chilly bins full of chocolate eggs.
- Our favourite hot cross bun flavour is traditional, closely followed by chocolate.
- Countdown is on track to sell more Easter eggs and hot cross buns than ever before, making 2017 the biggest and most popular Easter in the company’s history.
Family time
Countdown recently surveyed more than 700 customers from around the country, and of those surveyed, a third (35%) said they would be spending the holidays with their families, preferring to stay at home rather than brave the traffic or airports to head to traditional holiday hot spots.
Nearly half of people surveyed said that they would be planning to do DIY and gardening activities over the holiday weekend, as well as entertaining friends and family. Of those entertaining at home, sales show that a leg of lamb is the number one preferred meal at Easter. And if the recent run of bad weather finally leaves our shores, Kiwis aim to make good use of their BBQs as they enjoy the last long weekend on the calendar, with sales of traditional BBQ fare including sausages, steak and chops still faring strong over Easter.
Countdown’s General Manager Merchandise, Chris Fisher says Easter is a very important holiday in the calendar year. “We know customers start thinking about their favourite Easter treats well in advance of the holiday itself. Kiwis’ love affair with hot cross buns seems to start as soon as they finish their mince pies and Pavlovas from Christmas, buying more than one million hot cross buns in January alone,” he says.
Did you know?
A portion of the profits from all hot cross buns is donated to the Countdown Kids Hospital Appeal which sees crucial medical equipment donated to children’s hospital awards across the country. This year, hot cross bun sales are expected to raise more than $100,000 for the charity.
