Red meat retail performance – 19 April 2026

Beef retail performance

Over the past 12 weeks, total beef retail spend increased +7.6%, driven by average price rises of +14.7% and resulting in volume declines of -6.2%¹.

Primary beef volumes saw a -8.8% decrease, with all cuts in decline. Mince, which accounts for 59% of primary beef volumes, saw a -6.2% decline year-on-year. This was driven by a decrease in buyers and a reduction in volumes per buyer, due to the +24.8% average price increase.

Consumers loyal to beef mince are using a variety of ways to cope with the rising prices.

Total processed beef saw a -9.0% decline in volume purchased year-on-year. Burgers and grills drove this decline (-10.1%) driven by a decrease in buyers.

Total added-value products bucked the trend with volume growth of +6.1% this period. A strong performance for beef sous vide (+15.9%) was primarily driven by shoppers increasing how often they purchase sous vide products.

See the full data and these insights visualised on our GB household beef purchases retail dashboard.

Lamb retail performance

Over the past 12 weeks, total lamb in retail saw a +7.7% increase in spend, driven by a +8.3% increase in average prices paid, accompanied by a -0.5% decrease in volumes purchased¹.

Total primary lamb returned to volume growth this period with a +0.1% increase during the 12-week period, driven by lamb steaks (+7.5%) and lamb roasting joints (+0.8%). Lamb leg roasting joints, which account for 91% of all lamb roasting joints, grew +2.2% in volumes.

Easter weekend fell within this 12-week period, suggesting that consumers continue to reach out for lamb leg roasting joints for this festive celebration.

Processed lamb saw a -6.8% decrease in volumes year-on-year, this decline was driven by burgers & grills (-6.9%) which had a decrease in buyers.

Total added value lamb saw a +2.9% increase in volumes year-on-year. Lamb sous vide volumes grew +4.1% driven by an increase in buyers.

See the full data and these insights visualised on our GB household lamb purchases retail dashboard. 

Pig meat retail performance

In retail, total pig meat products saw a -3.2% decrease in volumes purchased in the past 12 weeks. This drove an overall -2.0% decrease in spend despite a +1.3% increase in average prices paid¹.

Primary pig meat saw volume increases of +5.0% this period, driven primarily by mince and roasting joints. Pork mince grew +33.8% (+1395 t), as consumers switched from beef mince into pork for everyday meals. Roasting saw increases of +8.4% likely due to Easter switching and driven by an increase in shoppers and an increase in volumes purchased per trip.

Processed pig meat saw a decrease of -5.9% over the 12-week period. Bacon rashers saw the biggest decline (-7.9%) as shoppers scale back how often they purchase or drop purchasing completely.

Declines were seen for other processed pig meat products sausages (-6.3%) sliced cooked meats (-6.9%) and gammon (-4.2%).

Total added value products saw an 12.5% increase in volumes this period. Ready-to-cook saw large volume increases of +38.5%, driven by an increase in number of buyers and increased volumes purchased per trip likely due to falling prices.

See the full data and these insights visualised on our GB household pork purchases retail dashboard.

¹ Worldpanel by Numerator UK, 12 w/e 19 April 2026

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