Air fryer food gets its own supermarket aisle as nearly half of households buy the cooking gadget
- Packs of different foodstuffs will now display cooking instructions for air fryers
Anyone who dismissed the air fryer as little more than a passing culinary fad will be eating their words.
For Britain’s first supermarket aisle dedicated to products that can be cooked in the revolutionary kitchen device has been unveiled in London.
Packs of everything from Greggs’ sausage rolls and steak bakes to Aunt Bessie’s roast chicken crowns, cod fillets and other family favourites will carry air fryer cooking instructions.
Air fryers have boomed during the cost of living crisis as they offer a more efficient, cheaper and quicker alternative to conventional ovens and grills.
Meanwhile, research by Which? found they can also offer a better result on dishes such as roast chicken – delivering both crispy skin and moist, juicy meat.
Anyone who dismissed the air fryer as little more than a passing culinary fad will be eating their words
The air fryer aisle is a trial at one London store of The Food Warehouse, which is part of the Iceland group, but it is a signpost to a permanent shift in supermarket layouts.
Some 72 per cent would like to see air fryer cooking instructions on food packaging. And Iceland has already begun making changes across nearly 300 items.
Other stores, such as Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Aldi are putting air fryer instructions on packs, as are brands such as McCain.
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The specialist aisle will have some 287 items, mainly frozen foods, that carry air fryer instructions. They include packs of Greggs 4 Sausage Rolls, Greggs 2 Steak Bakes, Young’s Gastro 2 Sicilian Lemon & Parsley Cod Fillets, Aunt Bessie’s Bacon Topped Chicken Crown, SpongeBob SquarePants Potato Shapes.
Own-label products in the section include Iceland Ridiculously Crispy Skin on French Fries, and Iceland Pakora Chicken Breast Fillet Strips.
The pilot is in partnership with energy supplier Utilita as part of the Shop Smart, Cook Savvy campaign.
Research published for the collaboration found 46 per cent of households have bought an air fryer in the last five years. And 44 per cent of owners are using their ovens less. Some 57 per cent use the devices multiple times a week with 20 per cent using it every day.
More than two in three – 68 per cent – cite affordability as the key reason for switching.
Utilita Energy’s latest research suggests a typical household could save £80.50 a year by moving away from a conventional oven.
The high-speed cooking also reduces energy use and carbon emissions.
The firm’s head of sustainability, Archie Lasseter, urged other stores to follow Iceland’s move.
‘This simple shift from one cooking appliance to another is helping households to reduce their cooking-related carbon emissions substantially,’ he said. ‘Behaviour change plays a role in almost two-thirds of emissions reductions, which makes Iceland’s dedicated air fryer aisle extremely valuable.’
Air fryers have boomed during the cost of living crisis as they offer a more efficient, cheaper and quicker alternative to conventional ovens and grills (file photo)
Executive chairman at Iceland, Richard Walker, said: ‘As the popularity of air fryer cooking grows, this aisle will give customers easy access to products that work perfectly in this time and energy saving cooking appliance.’
Emily Seymour of Which? said: ‘It feels like a natural next step to see a whole aisle in the supermarket dedicated to them. Our research has found cooking some foods in an air fryer can be cheaper than a conventional oven due to reduced energy consumption.’
Ms Seymoour added: ‘It’s not just freezer food that can be cooked in an air fryer. Air fryers have proven to be versatile gadgets, doing everything from roasting a chicken to baking a cake, using frozen or fresh ingredients.
‘It is worth researching which air fryer is best for you and the right size for the number of people in your household. Cost savings will vary depending on how much food you make, and the upfront cost of the appliance.’
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