No gin & tonic is complete without a slice of lime floating atop – something that has helped the sales of the citrus fruit at Asda spike by 49% over the last year, in-line with the growing popularity of G&Ts across the nation.
In 2017, Brits drank a staggering 51 million bottles of gin*, with 20%** of gin drinkers stating they pop a sliver of lime in their drinks, and a further 24% saying they couldn’t enjoy their G&T without a wedge of the zingy fruit. This has helped drive the sale of Asda’s limes to a record-level, with the zesty green fruit the most popular garnish of choice when it comes to gin.
Limes are fast becoming a staple item in the weekly shopping basket, with almost a quarter (23%) of the nation buying limes every week.
Miguel Perez, Asda’s Citrus Buyer, comments: “It’s rare to see such a spike in sales for an everyday fruit such as limes. However, this last year has been an exception, with the growing love of gin driving lime sales as Brits turn to the citrus as a garnish for their drinks.
“With gin seeing no sign of slowing down, we expect to see this growth increase in citrus fruit beyond limes, with oranges and grapefruit both set to spike over the summer as customers look for even more flavour for their drinks.”
To meet the demand for citrus over summer, Asda has introduced Frozen Lemon & Lime Wedges, providing the nation with frozen citrus wedges perfect for popping into drinks on those hot summer days, without the hassle of slicing and dicing.