Italian-style sandwiches have become the nation’s favourite foodie snack, sending sales of mozzarella and prosciutto soaring.
Britain’s biggest retailer reports record demand for Italian bread, meat and cheese as customers look to recreate sandwiches they’ve seen on social media or eaten by top footballers.
Tesco says demand for focaccia, panini, ciabatta and piadini breads have jumped by more than 40 per cent over the past year while sales of its Finest mozzarella are up by nearly 400 per cent. Its customers are ordering 70 per cent more gorgonzola and 100 per cent more burrata cheeses, while demand for Italian and continental meat platters has risen 35 per cent.
TikTok and other social media websites have been filled with mouth-watering videos and recipes for Italian sandwiches. One video on TikTok featuring a burrata caprese sandwich, dripping with olive oil, pesto and a cherry tomato confit, has been liked more than 1.6 million times. Another video showing how to make a Parma ham and salad ciabatta in “30 seconds” has been viewed nearly half a million times.
The trend appears to have been inspired by footballers, such as Erling Haaland and Phil Foden, who are partial to expensive Italian deli sandwiches.
Last year, Ad Maiora, an Italian deli in Manchester, was asked to cater for the Manchester City players after their Premier League victory over local rivals Manchester United.
Pep Guardiola, the Man City manager, at Ad Maiora after his team beat Manchester United
Owners Daniela Steri and Enrico Pinna said Haaland, the team’s top striker, loved the giant sandwiches so much he asked to take three to eat at home.
The store has since named the player’s favourite sandwich “the Haaland” – a £13.99 feast of Parma ham, burrata, pesto, truffle oil, sun-dried tomatoes, pistachios and rocket.
Food experts said the nation was being inspired by Italian cuisine. Harry Dempster, a chef at the food manufacturer, Samworth Brothers, said: “Authentic Italian food is a key trend right now, both as a sit-down meal and as food on the go.”
Charlotte Gramlick, a cheese-buyer for Tesco, explained that the high quality ingredients in Italian deli sandwiches were not cheap, which is why people were making them at home. She said: “Across the UK you’ll find artisan takeaway shops in major cities creating sandwiches that are a complete meal in themselves with all kinds of luxury ingredients. That trend is also being replicated at home with home chefs using social media sites and especially TikTok to show off their creations and recipes. As a result we’re seeing really strong demand for Italian cheeses, bread and meat platters.”
Tesco is responding by launching a new mortadella, mozzarella and pesto ricotta focaccia next month.
Gramlick added: “Brits have a great love for Italian food and it’s been our favourite cuisine to eat at home for many years now.
“But now that fondness for Italian is having a major impact on the food-to-go business with wonderful cheeses such as mozzarella and burrata and meats like mortadella becoming favourite sandwich-filling treats.”