Essentials like tinned tuna and hand sanitiser began flying off of the shelves in the days following the government’s warning that Brits should start stockpiling. 

In the ten days after shoppers were told to build up piles of essentials, sales of hand sanitiser jumped by 83 per cent year-on-year, according to Worldpanel by Numerator. 

This comes as Princes Group, a London-listed tinned foods manufacturer, told shareholders the government’s stockpiling orders had boosted demand for its products, which include tuna, tinned tomatoes and dried pasta. 

Last month, the government launched a campaign to encourage British households to build up supplies of non-perishable goods and survival essentials to last them three days. 

Defence secretary Wes Streeting said Brits should take action in case of hybrid attacks by “hostile state actors or terrorists” and revealed that he had begun building up his own stockpile weeks earlier.

Giuseppe Mastrolia, interim chief executive of Princes, said: “The increase in demand for our ambient food products following the UK Government’s Be Ready campaign, further reinforces the relevance of our core categories in providing affordable, nutritious and convenient food solutions.”

Princes, which also produces tinned tomatoes and dried pasta, told shareholders it has seen higher demand for canned fish, meat, fruit and vegetables since the government’s campaign launched at the end of October.

The stockpiling warning comes after cyber attacks on French supermarket fridges destroyed tons of frozen and chilled food. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: “If supplies are disrupted here, it seems tuna pasta bake could be the meal of choice in a crisis.”

Sales of bottled water and tinned goods in the UK soared by 67 and 37 per cent each in the days following the orders, according to Worldpanel. 400,000 more shoppers bought tinned meat each day following the launch of the campaign. 

Retailers blindsided by alert

Separate figures from Barclays revealed that a quarter (27 per cent) of British adults said they were stockpiling food or drink in the days following the government’s announcement. 

Steven Fergus, head of retail at Barclays, said: “A lot of people are clearly asking themselves, ‘what would I do if the power went off or the taps ran dry for a few days?’ That’s a sensible question.”

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Worldpanel, said shoppers “clearly took notice” of the government’s campaign. 

“But this wasn’t panic buying, with less than a third of households buying bottled water in October. 

“Growth came from more people adding the recommended items on the government’s checklist to their weekly shop, not from shoppers piling their trolleys high, which is very much in line with what the government wanted households to do.” 

Retailers have said the stockpiling advice had caught them off guard, prompting fears that a rush on shops could lead to shortages of essentials. Marks & Spencer boss Stuart Machin said the advice had worsened consumer sentiment by “worrying” shoppers. 

Grocery sales increased by 2.2 per cent in October, according to Worldpanel, as food inflation ticked up slightly from 2.5 to 2.6 per cent.