GENERAL MERCHANDISE NEWS
Waitrose reports surge in sales of mistletoe
14 December, 2012 | by Retail Bulletin
Waitrose has reported that sales of mistletoe are 45% up on this time last year as its customers look to nature to decorate their homes this Christmas.
The retailer is attributing the increase to people using the festive foliage to create a more natural, homemade look in their homes this year.
Couples will steal hundreds of thousands of kisses under the mistletoe during the festive season.
Waitrose Mistletoe Buyer Emma Coupe said: “Christmas is the time when the British lose their traditional reserve and enjoy this romantic festive custom of having a kiss in public with loved-ones or even with strangers.”
All of Waitrose’s British mistletoe is sustainably sourced from orchards in Herefordshire and Worcestershire. The sprigs are hand-cut from the branches of apple trees where mistletoe grows as a parasite after birds spread its seeds.
The custom of kissing under a sprig of hanging mistletoe is thought to lie in ancient fertility rituals. The tradition first caught on in Britain in the 19th century and has seen a renewed popularity surge in the past few years.
