Quiche Is In And Pork Pie Is Out, ONS Inflation Shopping Basket Reveals

Battle of the pastry goods sees quiche reign supreme.

Quiche is having something of a revival, according to the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) annual basket of goods.

ONS updates its basket annually to measure how the prices of goods are changing in the UK, however it’s also incredibly reflective of consumer trends - so we can hazard a few guesses about what’s popular and what’s not.

2018′s basket includes new additions like quiche, raspberries and women’s activewear leggings, while Edam cheese, pork pie and digital camcorders have been kicked into the long grass.

alpaksoy via Getty Images

The updating of the ‘basket of goods’ used by ONS to calculate inflation is a popular annual ritual. The products and services newly included – and those that have fallen out of favour – tell the story of the British public’s changing consumption habits.

Here’s what made the cut...

Quiche, raspberries, prepared mashed potato, women’s exercise leggings, girl’s leggings, high chairs, digital media players, action cameras (Go-Pro), child’s sit and ride toys, soft play sessions, cooked pastry-based savoury snacks and body moisturising lotions.

And what was chopped...

Pork pies, Edam cheese, peaches and nectarines, digital television recorders, small TV screens, digital camcorders, child’s tricycles, pastry/savoury pies, bottle of lager in a nightclub, full leg waxes and ATM charges.

ONS senior statistician Philip Gooding said: “Every year we add new items to the basket to ensure that it reflects modern spending habits. We also update the weight each item has to ensure the overall inflation numbers reflect shoppers’ experiences of inflation.

“However, while we add and remove a number of items each year, the overall change is actually quite small. This year we changed 36 items out of a total basket of 714.”

Check out the ONS interactive timeline, which looks back at how the basket of goods has changed since 1947.

Close