Research from finder.com reveals how much dough Brits could save by baking over buying.
Just one week until the new Great British Bake-Off series begins on Channel 4, comparison site finder.com has investigated how much Brits would save if we were a nation of Great British Bakers. Comparing the average cost of cakes bought in the supermarket versus the cost of ingredients to bake them at home, finder has discovered that Brits would save over £735 million per year if they home baked their cakes.
According to finder’s research, occasion cakes (such as wedding cakes) are found to have the most mark-up, costing around 500 percent more per gram to buy than to bake. Occasion cakes alone cost Brits over £133 million more to buy every year than if they were home baked.
The cake economy in the UK is worth over £1.36 billion in total, therefore according to the mark-up value of each category of cake, Brits would save over £735 million each year by baking. Small cakes are the most popular category in the UK, with a retail value of £662 million in 2016, therefore although they have mark-up of around 225%, Brits could save a whopping £370 million each year by home baking small cakes.
Jon Ostler, CEO of finder UK says: “The Great British Bake-Off has inspired so many Brits to try their hand at baking and we hope that by highlighting the money that could be saved from baking over buying, more Brits will feel encouraged to get stuck in. It’s amazing how these little money saving tips can really add up to stretch that pound even further!”
Great British Baker Savers
| Type of cake | 2016 retail value | Average cost/gram to buy | Average cost/gram to bake cake (GBP) | Mark-up (%) | £s saved by home baking in UK |
| Small | £662,000,000 | £0.009 | £0.004 | 225% | £370,000,000 |
| Large | £294,000,000 | £0.006 | £0.004 | 150% | £84,000,000 |
| Celebration | £244,000,000 | £0.011 | £0.004 | 275% | £148,000,000 |
| Occasion | £168,000,000 | £0.020 | £0.004 | 500% | £133,000,000 |
| Total | £1,368,000,000 | £735,000,000 |
Source: finder.com/uk, Mintel
For more information about the GBBO research please visit: https://www.finder.com/uk/save-money-baking-cakes
-Ends-
Notes to editors:
- CEO of finder UK, Jon Ostler, is available for comment, opinion or interview regarding this research.
- Cake buying calculations:
- The value of the UK cake industry (£1.36bn) is provided by Mintel data, divided into each cake category; small cakes/cake bars, large cakes, celebration cakes and occasion cakes.
- Finder has calculated the average cost per gram of bought cake by reviewing the average cost of products from each category (10 products per category in the UK’s leading supermarkets), therefore calculating an estimate number of grams of cake bought in each category in the UK.
- Cake baking cost calculations:
- The average price per gram of cake is calculated using the average cost of ingredients for chocolate cake, carrot cake, victoria sponge and cheesecake recipes.
- This is then broken down into the four cake categories as recognised by the UK cake retail industry, provided by Mintel: small cakes/cake bars, large cakes, celebration cakes and occasion cakes.
- £735m saving from baking
- Based on the average cost per gram of home-baked cake, the total cost of baking the cakes consumed in the UK equals £625m (£735m less than is spent in the UK on cakes).
For further press information, please contact:
Yasmine Triana/Aaryn Vaughan
Rooster PR
T: +44 (0)20 3440 8930
E: [email protected]
About finder
finder, Australia’s #1 comparison site, launched in the UK in February 2017.
Founded in 2006, finder has over three million MUUs and has helped consumers make 15 million decisions over the past decade.
finder is entirely independent, offering consumers unbiased content, comparisons and, wherever possible, a full market view.
So much more than just a comparison site, finder provides in depth guides, advice and editorial content to help consumers better understand all the options and products available.
Committed to educating and empowering consumers to make informed choices and ultimately, to make savings, finder’s success is based on the provision of up to date and relevant information supplied by dedicated, round the clock research teams.
Categories currently available in the UK include money transfers, travel money, gas & electricity, mobile, broadband, and TV streaming. New products (including insurance, credit cards, loans, mortgages and pensions) will be rolled out over the coming months.
Currently operating in four countries –Australia, New Zealand, USA and the UK – finder employs over 120 staff and aims to increase global presence to ten countries in the next 12 months.
