The superfood that’s fast becoming a ‘mainstay of the festive feast’

Red cabbage has firmly established itself as a festive staple across the UK, with supermarket giant Tesco reporting a significant surge in demand over the Christmas period.

The retailer revealed that sales of the vibrant vegetable during Christmas week in 2024 soared by an impressive 150 per cent compared to the previous year, with this December already showing a similar upward trend.

To meet this escalating popularity, Lincolnshire-based brassica grower TH Clements, a key supplier to Tesco, has boosted its growing volume by 20 per cent this year.

Red cabbage has long been a cornerstone of European Christmas dinners, particularly in Germany, Denmark, and Poland, where it is traditionally served as a sweet and sour, slow-cooked side dish.

It is often braised with apples, onions, raisins, and warming spices such as cinnamon and cloves.

Tesco brassica buyer Simon Tenwick said that in the UK red cabbage “used to have a ‘Marmite’ type reputation which is probably linked to schoolkids being told to eat their cabbage which was often boiled to death”.

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However, he said that demand for the vegetable has grown in recent years, such that it is thought to be a “mainstay of the festive feast”.

“Christmas dinner always used to be about the traditional centrepiece garnished with roast potatoes, carrots, sprouts and parsnips and maybe broccoli or cauliflower,” he said.

“Two years ago, we noticed a slight rise in demand for red cabbage but last year sales really soared, so much so that we believe the vegetable has now become a mainstay of the festive feast.

“We’ve ordered in more this year as a result of the trend and also think that the delicious side dish may also become a staple with the traditional Sunday roast.”

John Moulding, commercial director of TH Clements, based near Boston, Lincolnshire, said red cabbage is “very much the vegetable of the moment”.

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TH Clements sold 600,000 more cabbages in 2024 than in 2023, with a possible reason for the increased demand being a wider trend of growing demand for brightly-coloured vegetables – linked to nutrition advice to “eat the rainbow”.

By eating fruits and vegetables of different colours, experts say people are likely to achieve a good range of vitamins and minerals for maintaining health and wellbeing.

Red cabbage has also featured in recipes by celebrity chefs such as Mary Berry, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson.

Mr Moulding said: “Red cabbage is very much the vegetable of the moment and to cater for the extra demand we’ve had to increase our planting programme by 20 per cent.

“Sales have always been steady and we’ve seen occasional spikes when the vegetable has featured in the recipes of TV chefs.

“But we’ve never seen such overwhelmingly strong demand for a single vegetable as we are seeing at the moment for red cabbage.”