The Great British Bake Off returns to our screens in five days' time and, in keeping with tradition, consumers are already snapping up baking tools and equipment in anticipation.
Since its debut in 2010, the show has energised home baking sales in the UK and has inspired the "The Bake Off" effect, whereby shoppers stock up in advance of a new series.
John Lewis said it had already seen a "huge spike" in sales of baking equipment as customers limber up to replicate the bakes seen on the show.
Sales of baking tools such as spoons and spatulas are up 50pc and 42pc, respectively, over the past week, while Paul Hollywood cookie cutters are up 50pc, and sales of cookbooks and cake stands have risen 18pc, the retailer said.Â
Sales of certain cupcakes kits are up 225pc, perhaps unsurprisingly given the first episode of Bake Off is, as always, cake week. Cupcake toppers are up 19pc week on week.
Bake Off, which attracted more than 14 million viewers for its final episode last year, has inspired thousands of British consumers to jump on the baking bandwagon. In fact, between 2009 and 2014, annual baking sales rose from £523m to £1.7bn, according to figures from Mintel, largely because of the popularity of cooking shows.Â
Separate research from Mintel found that 33pc of Britons say that TV programmes such as Bake Off and The Great British Sewing Bee inspire them to try new hobbies
In 2015, sales of baking trays at Waitrose soared by a remarkable 881pc in the run-up to the first episode of Bake Off airing on TV. And sales of almonds, which featured several times throughout the series, increased by more than 76pc at the supermarket, while pine and Brazil nuts saw a rise in sales of 302pc and 43pc respectively.
Emily Wimborne, cookshop buyer for John Lewis, said:Â "Bake Off bedlam is at fever pitch ahead of the show's return next Tuesday, and we're already noticing that our customers are kitting out their kitchens in preparation.
"We're expecting to see sales follow the theme of the week throughout the series, as customers attempt to make their own showstoppers at home."
The first reviews for the controversial Channel 4 version of Bake Off are out, and it seems to have gone down a treat.
The Telegraph's Michael Hogan said: "Sure, the people – with the exception of steely-eyed Paul Hollywood – are different, but if you squint a little, they could be the same old familiar faces, making the same innuendo-laden jokes about 'soggy bottoms' and 'firm buns'.
"Of course, this makes the programme impossible to hate. And I really, really wanted to hate it."
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