May was another hectic month for all things food and drink. Summer is well and truly here now, with temperatures soaring and plenty of celebrations!
Here are some of the trends we’ve seen this last month!
Coronation Craze
The start of the month saw the UK celebrate the coronation of King Charles III. Alongside that, we saw a spike in searches for a variety of classic coronation food & drink.
Starting with a classic, searches for ‘Coronation chicken recipe’ increased by 1000% year on year. Searches for the patriotic dish started to increase on the 1st of the month, peaking from 5th – 6th May before declining again by 7th May.
Moving onto 2023’s Coronation dish of choice – ‘Coronation quiche recipe’ saw a 1350% interest increase. Having multiple spikes in interest since the announcement that this would be the official dish of the Coronation, Coronation quiche had interest peak towards the end of April and up until May 7th. Since the end of Coronation weekend, interest has declined back to zero.
Finishing with something sweet, searches for ‘Coronation cake recipe’ increased by 900% year on year. Google Trends shows that the interest level peaked on 6th May and hit zero by 8th May.
What the above information tells us is that certain calendar occasions can be short-lived. Whilst the Coronation weekend was a fantastic opportunity for brands to get involved in the conversation and jump on new product launches and opportunities, the overall interested in coronation related products, recipes and campaigns was short-lived and perhaps didn’t have the desired interest.
We saw a range of food & drink launches and campaigns from big brands focused on Coronation weekend – including a reimagined Coronation Colin the Caterpillar from M&S, Tesco’s first pub and Celebration’s chocolate sculpture.
Getting Summer Ready
As we approach the vibrant summer season, the shorts and sundresses have been rolled out, and increased attention is being placed on physical well-being and fitness regimens to achieve the desired beach bods.
‘Weight loss gummies’ have become incredibly popular, with searches for them skyrocketing by an impressive 273%. It seems like more and more people are turning to these as what they see as an easy way to shed some pounds.
Protein is a popular topic of conversation as well, with 10 million searches in the past month, reflecting a +16% increase in the past year. Within this, specific search terms such as ‘protein high foods’ have been particularly common, with 124k searches in the past month, a +14% increase year on year.
For food and drink brands, this increase in interest around protein rich foods and recipes shows there is opportunity to provide advice, products and recipes to consumers. It is no surprise that searches for healthy foods and weight loss advice spikes before summer – and this will continue over the years, therefore it is a trend that brands can anticipate and be ready to jump on next year.
Thing’s are Heating Up
In light of the better weather, another search term that has surged is Pimm’s recipes. The popularity of this refreshing summer beverage soared, especially from May 4th – May 6th, reaching its peak interest level at 100 on May 6th.
Additionally, there was another smaller spike in searches, reaching a level of 46, on May 14th. The rising interest in Pimm’s recipe highlights people’s inclination towards embracing the warm weather with a cool and delightful drink.
The interest in cool, refreshing and traditionally summer drinks shows that May certainly started the summer shenanigans in the UK – with warmer temperatures sparking BBQ’s, Alfresco drinking and dining and a desire for refreshing beverages. With this we can expect to see plenty more interest in summer cocktails, recipes and products – so food and drink brands need to be ready to react with cooling tips, hot summer recipes and cooling drinks to enjoy on a summer’s day.
It’s worth noting that the data also shows a big jump in searches for recipes related to the coronation celebrations in the UK. But here’s the thing: these recipe searches had their moment in the spotlight and then quickly faded away. However, most of these recipes experienced short-lived spikes, primarily occurring in late April and early May. It seems that the interest in these recipes was closely tied to the anticipation and festivities surrounding the coronation.
