UK retailer Waitrose has seen increased demand for whole foods as customers continue to move away from ultra-processed foods.
A growing awareness around ultra-processed foods has led to many shoppers going back to basics in 2025 – turning away from low-fat, highly processed products in favour of less-processed, whole food ingredients.
“There’s been a lot of bad press around so-called ‘healthy’ products which aren’t nutritious and don’t taste great, however the growing awareness of ultra-processed food in our diets has seen many customers seeking the basics and embracing a much simpler approach to their diet,” said Maddy Wilson, Director of Waitrose Own Brand.
Waitrose revealed:
- Whole milk and full-fat Greek yogurt sales are up 11% and 21% compared to skimmed milk and Greek style yoghurt a year ago.
- Whole food searches are soaring with ‘full fat milk’ and ‘full fat yoghurt’ skyrocketing 417% and 233% in the last 30 days.
The recent Waitrose Food & Drink report (2024-25) highlighted that 54% of those surveyed proactively avoid processed foods and 61% cook from scratch to reduce the amount of ultra-processed foods they eat.
The trend reflects the wider growing awareness of ultra-processed foods, thanks in no small part to Dr Chris van Tulleken’s bestselling book Ultra-Processed People and its continued momentum in 2024 and into 2025. His eye-opening, rigorously researched account of ultra-processed foods and their effect on our health turned many people towards cooking from scratch, with unprocessed or minimally processed ingredients.
