UK’s food sales soar as Brits adopt Thanksgiving

THE US holiday of Thanksgiving, which takes place today, is becoming increasingly popular in Scotland, with both expats and Brits keen to celebrate the event.

President Obama pardons the Thanksgiving turkey "Cheese" during the annual ceremony. Picture: Getty

Online retailer Amazon.co.uk said it had seen a surge in sales of Thanksgiving-related foods such as pumpkin spice cookies, with the sales of some products soaring by as much as 1,500 per cent on this time last year.

Meanwhile, a study from Waitrose found that one in six Brits plans to embrace Thanksgiving this year as the retailer reported a 95 per cent increase in sales of turkey – the traditional Thanksgiving centrepiece – this month compared with last November.

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Nancy Lynner, president of the American Women’s Club of Central Scotland, said she had noticed an increasing trend for shops selling US products around Thanksgiving time: “I think British people really love the idea of Thanksgiving. It is such a nice reason to celebrate.

“It is a lot of Americans’ favourite holiday because it doesn’t have the pressures of others – there is no religious affiliation and no presents.”

In the UK, London – home to a third of American expats in the UK – saw the highest sales of Thanksgiving products according to Amazon, with Glasgow coming in fifth behind Bristol, Manchester and Belfast.

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