Across the UK consumers are getting to know their oats

IT HAS been the staple breakfast food of many Scots for hundreds of years.

But now the humble porridge oat is gaining popularity UK-wide, as supermarkets and retailers report soaring sales of the product.

Stores including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Tesco have claimed that sales have rocketed since the turn of the year as more people opt for the healthy Scottish breakfast as a warmer during the cold winter weather.

Supermarket Sainsbury’s revealed an 83 per cent increase in sales of porridge in the first week of February, compared with the same week in 2011.

But the sales boost was led not by traditional porridge oats, but by instant varieties, which saw a massive 440 per cent rise in sales over the period.

Experts said the rise was down to a combination of more awareness of the nutritional value of the food, combined with a “back to basics” approach and increased interest in traditional cooking and meals prepared from scratch.

“Porridge has been a staple British breakfast since the 17th century, but there’s no secret as to why it’s remained popular through the ages,” said Anna Denny, Sainsbury’s company nutritionist. “Milky porridge provides protein and dietary fibre, including cholesterol-lowering beta-glucan.”

Research from the supermarket revealed that nearly a third of people eat porridge for breakfast in an effort to warm up and refuel during the working week – with the meal only rivalled in popularity by a bowl of regular cereal, which is eaten by 43 per cent of the population.

At Tesco, sales of the food are up 50 per cent in the first few weeks of 2012, compared to the same period last year, while in stores owned by rival Morrisons, porridge sales rose by 50 per cent last weekend compared to the previous week – which the company said was chiefly due to a demand for warming foods as the weather became colder.

“We know that customers want to ensure they have their winter warmers in when the weather gets treacherous,” said Martyn Jones, Morrisons group corporate services director.

James Withers, chief executive of Scotland Food and Drink, said: “A really interesting trend has emerged over the last year or two. People are reverting to more traditional cooking and home-prepared meals.

“As people’s spending power is reduced, cooking from scratch with raw ingredients has been on the rise. People are harking back to how their parents and grandparents used to feed the family. This could well explain the rise in popularity of porridge. It’s a healthy option and the kind of traditional start to the day that would have been a habit a generation ago – its got something of a feel good factor to it.”

He added: “Last month also saw a whole series of events around Farmhouse Breakfast Week, so that could be another reason for this porridge spike.” Although associated with Scotland, porridge has been a traditional food in much of northern Europe and Russia – where it is made with buckwheat. In recent years, porridge has been sold as a snack food at music festivals and farmers’ markets, as well as eaten as a traditional breakfast meal.

The oat variety eaten in the UK is also common in Nordic countries and Germany, as well as other parts of the English-speaking world where Scots have settled.

Tesco cereals buying manager Sarah Saunders said: “Shoppers are switching to buying porridge from other breakfast options due to the great value for money per portion and increasing awareness of its health benefits.”