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Waitrose taps into British appetite for Portuguese sweet treats

British premium retailer Waitrose has launched a lemon-flavoured bolo de arroz, a Portuguese rice muffin, in a bid to build on the continued popularity of pastel de nata in the UK.

Pastel de nata, a well-known Portuguese patisserie has become a firm favourite with UK consumers over recent years. Waitrose, leaning into this interest from consumers, has focused its efforts on patisserie innovation, underpinned by the recent launch of its twist on bolo de arroz, a traditional Portuguese rice muffin or cupcake.

Waitrose’s Portuguese lemon iced bolo de arroz offers a play on the original with the addition of a lemon curd filling and sweet lemon icing.

The cake is made from a mix of rice and wheat flour and is served in a cylindrical blue and white paper case, to reflect the colours of Portugal. Waitrose collaborated with a bakery based in Porto, Northern Portugal, to create the product.

UK sales of cakes and sweet bake sales resilient

With bread sales falling across the UK, bakery players are targeting niche areas of the category in an attempt to maintain interest and attract a new generation of increasingly adventurous consumers.

According to market intelligence company Mintel, the UK bakery category is currently witnessing sharp contrasts. When it comes to bread, the category is seeing volume decline amid value growth, represented by higher prices for better quality products.

Another factor at play is the volatility of the UK economy over the past 12 months, reflected by cautious consumer spending, which has seen many struggling to stretch their household budgets in the face of a mounting cost of living.

“The UK economy's movement into a shallow recession in 2023 has impacted consumer spending. Despite this, value sales of cakes and sweet baked goods have remained resilient, primarily because they are seen as affordable treats with a small share in grocery budgets,” Mintel’s 2025 Global Good and Drink Trends report highlights.

Data from Waitrose supports Mintel’s findings, which show sales of its patisserie products have grown by 9% in the last year. The retailer claims that Waitrose.com has seen a surge in searches for pastel de natas up by 137% in the past 90 days, while searches for Portuguese tarts were up by 30% in the past month.

“We know our customers are all about exploration in food and we’re seeing an increasingly popular culinary trend towards citrus fruits as customers turn to specific regions for the taste and quality cues they desire. The new bolo de arroz offers our customers the citrus tastes they are looking for,” said Serena Jackson, patisserie developer at Waitrose.

Waitrose adds flavour twist to Portuguese classic

Waitrose decided to ride the interest in Portuguese tarts but chose to answer that demand with something a little bit out of the ordinary – the addition of lemon, reflecting the growing number of UK consumers interested in exploring alternative offerings.

Mintel’s top food and beverage trend predictions for 2025 also mirror this, highlighting a growing sense of disruption in consumer expectations, leaning toward more adventurous tastes and aspirations.

The first of the Mintel trends is “Rule Rebellion”, which “embraces consumers as “perfectly imperfect” beings who are hungry for brands that help them “break the rules in food and drink”.