Information Centre
How much flour is consumed in the UK?
UK flour consumption was 54kg per person per year in 2019/20 (source Statista, January 2022).
Where does flour end up?
About 65% of flour produced in the UK is used in the manufacture of bread products, with the remaining 35% being used in a huge diversity of food products, including biscuits cakes and other products.
How much bread does the UK eat?
Bread is bought by 99.8% of British households, and the equivalent of nearly 11 million loaves are sold each day. Approximately 60-70% of the bread we eat is white and sandwiches are thought to account for 50% of overall bread consumption. Average bread purchases are the equivalent of 60.3 loaves per person per year.
According to the government’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey, average bread consumption per person is approximately 80 grammes per day, higher for men (96g) than for women (66g). These averages include those who consume very little bread. White bread remains the most popular, with 76% of people saying they eat it; by contrast only 33% of people say they eat brown bread and 36% wholemeal. These percentages are not mutually exclusive, many consumers of brown or wholemeal will also eat white bread (source: NDNS Years 1-9, published 2019).
Large bakeries, which produce wrapped and sliced bread, account for 85% of UK bread production. In store bakeries within supermarkets produce about 12% of bread, with the remainder accounted for by high street bakeries.
