Butter is no longer just salted or unsalted: British shoppers are increasingly buying flavours such as chocolate and truffle, driven by social media trends and a growing appetite for convenience in home cooking.
Figures from Worldpanel, an analyst that tracks supermarket sales, show spending on flavoured butters across Britain rose by 24% in the 52 weeks to 7 September 2025, compared with the previous year. In the same period, growth for packs of flavoured butter is also up 16.2%.
Ocado, the UK’s largest online-only supermarket, reports searches for flavoured butter have risen 184% in the past year, suggesting a threefold increase in shopper interest. Sales of M&S’s smoky cowboy butter – infused with spicy flavours such as chipotle – sold via Ocado, have climbed by 136% since launch earlier this year.
Experts put the rise down to young people who want to experiment and add flavour to their meals. TikTok videos featuring flavoured butter recipes have also helped encourage the trend, attracting hundreds of thousands of views, and popularising new spreads, they say.
Alice Pilkington, food and drink principal analyst at the market research firm Mintel, said: “There are several factors driving the popularity of flavoured butter, including the emergence of a ‘foodie’ culture and social media’s increasing influence. In the UK, 61% of 16- to 34-year-olds would describe themselves as foodies, compared with 42% of consumers overall.
“These younger consumers are often discovering new flavours and food trends through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. This has led to a strong appetite for culinary exploration and innovative products.”
She added: “Positioning butter as an ingredient to create better home-cooked meals is nothing new: Lurpak has explored this theme for years. However, All Things Butter, launched in the UK in 2023, takes this one step further. The brand started as a series of social media videos during Covid-19, showing founder and chef Thomas Straker making flavoured butters. The butters were then just eaten on bread or added to pasta. This positions butter as the central vehicle of flavour.”
Lurpak’s garlic butter, produced by RLA Foods, remains the market leader with sales worth £5.6m. It continues to expand, with value sales up 18.5% and volumes up 12.2% in the past year. While Christmas has traditionally been the peak season, the brand has also recorded spikes around Easter and at the start of the summer barbecue season, they said.
All Things Butter, a fast-growing newcomer to the category, is on track to triple its £1.5m turnover from last year, having launched a series of new products. Its Cinnamon Bun butter, introduced in May 2024, has posted quarterly growth of 245% on average, with sales in January 2025 more than doubling month on month. Between June 2024 and January 2025, volumes rose more than eightfold. The company – that already has garlic and unsalted options – has since launched the UK’s first chocolate butter and a truffle variety.
Retail buyers say the appeal lies in the ability to enhance simple dishes without adding complexity. “We’ve seen a recent boom in demand for flavoured butters as they’ve become a popular and easy way to elevate everyday meals,” said Harriet Northover, butter and spreads buyer at Ocado.
Despite economic pressures, consumers are still seeking “affordable luxuries,” says Pilkington, with flavoured butters offering a way to elevate everyday meals at low cost. She added that younger, time-pressed home cooks are particularly drawn to them as a quick route to bold flavour, while brands position the products as both convenient and inventive.