Pancake Day

This best practice document focuses on Pancake Day, a traditional UK event also known as Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day always occurs on a Tuesday, before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (where people opt to give up their vices until Easter). The date of the event changes each year, based on when Easter falls in the calendar.

In the UK, Pancake Day is observed by eating Pancakes, a simple food made up of Milk, Eggs and Flour, fried in a pan, with Sugar and Lemon Juice used as accompaniments. In recent years, we have seen the emergence of ready made Pancake Shakers (that require water adding to a pre-made mixture) to ease preparation for customers. Ready made Pancakes have also entered the mainstream in fresh foods alongside the emergence of numerous options for toppings, with Nutella, Marshmallow Fluff and Ice Cream Treat sauces all notable additions.

Pancake Day also represents an opportunity to drive trade in General Merchandise also, with retailers featuring a wide range of Kitchen Utensils and Cookware and to help customers prepare for the event.

Whilst not a core event in our retail calendar, Pancake Day does command a strong presence in early February (typically) when it lands in store.