Millennials rush to snap up Waitrose's avocado-shaped Easter egg

Waitrose's' avocado Easter egg
Waitrose's avocado Easter egg 

The Millennial obsession with the humble avocado has extended to chocolate treats, with Waitrose claiming its avocado-shaped Easter egg has become the fastest selling own-brand egg ever sold in its 114-year history.

The £8 egg has been designed to look like one half of an avocado fruit, with a dark chocolate shell, green flesh and an inner dome of dark chocolate that resembles a stone. 

The shell and stone are Belgian chocolate made with 70pc cocoa, while the white chocolate middle uses natural colouring to imitate the green flesh of the fruit. Despite the physical resemblance, the egg's flavour is 100pc chocolate.

Although the Easter egg has been selling fast in stores, Waitrose looked to reassure customers that it would be re-stocking the egg in most branches ahead of the weekend. The retailer's Easter egg buyer, Elizabeth Sutcliffe, said avo-ficionados would need to be quick, however, as "we expect them all to be snapped up before Easter".

On Wednesday morning, the Easter egg remained sold out online, and social media users complained that they were unable to get their hands on one.

Britain has been in the grip of an avocado obsession for the past few years. In December 2015, avocado sales overtook oranges for the first time. 

According to research giant Nielsen's annual analysis of till sales at supermarkets and convenience stores, avocados recorded an uptick in sales of £29.8m between 2016 and 2017, making it the third most popular grocery product of last year.

Adam Leyland, editor of trade magazine The Grocer, which analysed Nielsen’s data, said Britons – especially the middle classes – "couldn't get enough" of avocados, thanks to its super-food qualities: the fruit is high in fibre, oleic acid, potassium, vitamin E and magnesium.

To capitalise on our love for the creamy fruit, a number of shops, restaurants and supermarkets have jumped on the bandwagon and started selling avocado-related products, including avocado spread, avocado lattes, and avocado soap.

 

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