Sales of Italian-style baked goods soar at Waitrose
Waitrose has reported bumper spring trading for its range of seasonal Italian-style bakery products, partly driven by online trends.
“Our food lovers are looking for a more sophisticated, sun-drenched update to the traditional bank holiday, and Italian bakes like the Colomba Cake are the perfect centerpiece, offering light and elegant puddings,”
The retailer revealed sales have more than doubled for its Easter Hot Cross Bunettone (+120%) and No.1 Pistachio Tiramisu (+111%) compared to the previous year, with No.1 Colomba Cake shifting 85% more in 2026.
Searches on the Waitrose website were also analysed, identifying rises in terms like ‘Colomba Cake’ (+256%), ‘Panettone’ (+30%), ‘Gianduja’ (+20%), and ‘Tiramisu’ (+17%) over the past month.
“Our food lovers are looking for a more sophisticated, sun-drenched update to the traditional bank holiday, and Italian bakes like the Colomba Cake are the perfect centerpiece, offering light and elegant puddings,” said Will Torrent, senior development chef at Waitrose.
“It’s a move toward ‘aesthetic entertaining’ – these cakes aren’t just delicious; they are a conversation starter,” he added. “They’re delicious dipped into a hot espresso or served as an ice cream sandwich with our No.1 Colombian Coffee Ice Cream.”
Social media, meanwhile, was found to be fuelling what Waitrose dubbed the ‘Italianmaxxing’ trend among restaurants and bakery brands. For instance, Pophams and Jolene in London were incorporating pistachio and gianduja (chocolate & hazelnut paste) into seasonal pastries, while Lannan in Edinburgh had taken to using flavours like coffee and mascarpone in its viennoiserie range.
There was also the reverse in action, whereby classic Italian bakery formats were infused with on-trend flavours from other cuisines – e.g. matcha tiramisu, which is a highlight of the menu at the new Guisseppe’s Kitchen recently opened inside Boxhall Park at London’s Liverpool Street.
Food content creators had brought the Italianmaxxing at Easter concept home, noted Waitrose. It gave examples such as Lacebakes who recently shared a viral Mini Egg Focaccia, and Amal Wakim who created a tiramisu out of hot cross buns.
Predicting the continued growth that Italian cuisine has on food innovation, Waitrose looked to also incorporate trending flavours like gianduja and pistachio into its Easter eggs.
