BWG Foods has reported significant demand for gardening products during the lockdown period, with sales surpassing €1 million over the past eight weeks.
With garden centres and DIY stores closed to the public up until Monday 18 May, BWG Foods began supplying flowering and bedding plants, compost and other key gardening products across its Spar, Eurospar, Mace, Londis and XL brand stores nationwide, resulting in a new stream of business for many retailers.
BWG Foods made the decision to supply gardening products so that customers could continue to maintain their gardens during the COVID-19 lockdown period, with gardening becoming an increasingly popular activity, driven primarily by recent travel and movement restrictions, the company said.
Plants Sales Surge
In total, over 200,000 plants have been sold across its store network since 23 March, 2020.
'The sale of gardening products through Ireland’s grocery retail sector has continued to provide a critical sales channel for Irish growers and nurseries during what would normally be their busiest trading period of the year in supplying seasonal summer produce,' the group said.
"While people have been confined to their homes during the lockdown period, many have embraced their gardens as a healthy means of passing time," Willie O’Byrne, managing director, BWG Foods said,
"We have a network of over 1,000 community-based stores across the country, meaning we had the ability to cater to a very significant proportion of the population’s gardening needs, while they respect the Covid-19 travel restrictions."
Standout Categories
BWG Foods said that it has experienced a significant increase in sales across a number of product categories since the beginning of the COVID-19 lockdown, with egg sales up 70% when compared with the same period last year, butter sales up 50% since the beginning of the lockdown, and milk also up 15% since the beginning of the lockdown.
Recent good weather has also contributed to a 77% increase in take-home ice-cream sales and a 38% increase in pre-pack meat, traditionally associated with the BBQ season.
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