It's official, Britain is a nation of sandwich junkies, but did you realise the sandwich you eat each day says more about you than you'd think?
More than two billion sandwiches are consumed every year by Britons, who spend roughly £3 each day on their favourite lunchtime meal. But now a survey, conducted by ASDA, has found that offices across Britain are full of "desk martyrs".
Nearly a quarter of people surveyed admitted it they are tied to their PCs every lunchtime and rely on others to buy their sandwiches for them. Whilst more and more people are becoming "weight conscious adventurers" (17%) who pop out every lunchtime to get a breath of fresh air, but only ever purchase 95% fat-free sandwiches.
Yet, despite recent publicity surrounding bulging waistlines, one in seven people are still "hearty geezers" (15%) who gorge themselves on gut busting triple deckers each day, and nearly one in seven are "casual grazers" (14%) who admit to spending most of the day snacking, preferring to use their lunchtimes to play computer games.
Following the rise in celebrity chefs and cooking programmes, seven per cent of Brits consider themselves to be "gastro racers" who look forward to tucking into the latest fad from the delis of New York. Whilst 13% of those surveyed are "traditional lunchers" who prefer to make their own cheese and pickle sandwiches each day, and one in ten (11%) are healthy homies who, although not necessarily vegetarians, tend to opt for the 'organic' veggie option.
Rachel Baskind, ASDA's fresh sandwich manager, who commissioned the research, said: "Almost everyone these days is a sandwich junky, but what people don’t realise is that what you eat says more about you than you'd think. Our survey found that at one end of the spectrum we have Brits who are real 'foodies', and at the other end we have consumers who'll eat almost anything as long as they don’t have to go and get it themselves!"
In response ASDA has developed twenty-five new sandwiches to cater for each and every possible taste. Rachel added: "For gastro racers we've developed a premium range of sandwiches like our Yorkshire ham and blue cheese, green Thai prawn and free range egg and cress. Whilst hearty geezers will love our new range of extra large sandwiches like the chicken triple, and the cheese and onion giant bap."
The research has been released to coincide with British Sandwich Week (9th -15th May), which is co-sponsored by ASDA. It aims to celebrate the role of the sandwich in British society which dates back to 1700s*. All of ASDA's 25 new sandwiches hit stores nationwide from Monday 17th May. They include:
Good For You - Beef & Tomato, Cheese & Pickle Roll, Ranchers Chicken Flatbread, Egg & Salad Cream Roll, which will appeal to weight conscious adventurers, healthy homies and desk martyrs.
Go Large - Cheese & Onion Giant Bap, Tuna & Cucumber Giant Bap, Chicken Triple, Ham & Pease Pudding Stottie (only available in selected stores), which will appeal to desk martyrs, hearty geezers and casual grazers
Go Simple - Chicken Salad Wrap, Smoked Salmon & Crème Fraiche, Bagel & Philadelphia, which will appeal to traditional lunchers, healthy homies, casual grazers and desk martyrs.
Go Global - New York Deli Style Pastrami & Ham, Green Thai Prawn Deep Fill, Cajun Chicken Sub Roll, Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil, which will appeal to gastro racers, and some weight conscious adventurers.
Extra Special - Yorkshire Chicken and Herb Salad, Welsh Goats Cheese & Sweetcure Bacon, Wiltshire Ham & Egg, Free Range Egg & Cress, Aberdeen Angus Beef, Pork & Apple, Yorkshire Ham & Blue Cheese, which will appeal to gastro racers.
Further information: Dominic Burch, 0113 241 7829
Out of hours, 0113 243 5435
Editors' Notes:
Ranking / % of population
Classification Personality Favourite sandwich type Favourite filling Least favourite filling
1 - 23% Desk Martyr Goes on the internet at lunchtime. Other people buy their sandwiches for them. They always look for special offers. Anything goes: ciabatta, rolls, wraps, paninis, pasties. Turkey, ham and cheese. Pretty easy going. But doesn't like variety packs.
2 - 17% Weight Conscious Adventurer Wishes lunchtimes were longer. Has to pop out for fresh air every day and catch up with friends. Opts for the regular 2 pack, but it must always be the healthy option! Italian chicken with sun blushed tomato. Ham and full fat cheese.
3 - 15% Hearty Geezer Not very health conscious, and doesn’t like cooking! Likes belly busters. Wants something that will fill them up e.g. thick cut bloomers, deep fill, extra large, triple pack sandwiches. Meat feast triple decker. Oh and don’t forget the two bags of crisps, chocolate bar and a fizzy drink. Salad.
4 - 14% Casual Grazers Play computer games during lunch and read emails. Often found snacking throughout the day. Baguettes, rolls and hot sandwiches - as long as they are cheap. Ham and turkey. Also likes pork pies and sausage rolls. Not interested in healthy options or fruit.
5 - 13% Traditional lunchers Unadventurous, simple tastes. Tends to make their own, normally exactly the same each day. Cheese and pickle. None of that foreign muck thank you! Anything with spices, herbs or fancy breads!
6 - 11% Healthy Homies Normally vegetarians who believe organic food is definitely good value for money. Chooses the healthy option, e.g. 95% fat free Caesar salad wrap, with a water and yoghurt. Salad, roasted vegetables. Most meats - but in particular prawn and turkey.
7 - 7% Gastro Racers Like to try new and exciting things. Love ethnic foods. When not eating sushi, likes a Mexican tortilla wraps. Chicken with a twist, regional specialities, free range egg and cress on rye. Spam.
*John Montague (1718-1792), the Fourth Earl of Sandwich is credited with creating the name. He became First Lord of the Admiralty and was patron to Capt. James Cook (who explored New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, and Polynesia.). Capt. Cook named the Hawaiian Islands after him, calling them the Sandwich Island.
Montague was a hardened gambler and usually gambled for hours at a time at this restaurant, sometimes refusing to get up even for meals. It is said that ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread. Because Montague also happened to be the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" The original sandwich was, in fact, a piece of salt beef between two slices of toasted bread.
