The Goods UK – 26 September 2025
Welcome back to The Goods UK! This week we’re chatting whether seasonal hiring will steady the hospitality industry, why plushies might triumph over bricks this Christmas and if the crackdown on sugar and salt will have negative implications for baby food production.
Fun stats of the week
- 30m: shoppers expected by John Lewis during the festive season. (Independent)
- £50: the cost of Amuseables Peanut Reindeer, one of the Jellycat 2025 Christmas range best-sellers. (Mirror)
- 250: years since Josiah Wedgwood’s famous blue ‘jasperware’ launched. ( Telegraph)
What’s in: this week’s trends
- Yule get hired: While recent stats suggest the UK labour market is steadying its stride, hospitality is still wobbling with the industry losing 10,000 workers in the past month alone. (Financial Times) But with the festive shopping frenzy soon upon us, it might not all be bah humbug! Domino’s is dishing out 5,000 yuletide roles, with The Perfume Shop, John Lewis and Aldi having also announced significant seasonal hiring recently. (Independent)
- Bears bump bricks: Parents might be stepping on fewer plastic bricks this Boxing Day as Jellycat has dethroned LEGO in the pre-Christmas shopping hunt. The plushies registered a 22% year-on-year increase in UK search volumes, compared to LEGO’s 5% rise. (OK!) Other toys anticipating a surge this year include Transformers, whose sales have been bolstered by grown-up gift givers looking for collector’s items. (Metro)
- Gate crashers: Cyber crooks are no longer content with just cracking cash registers, they’re also meddling with mileage. Over the weekend, several of Europe’s largest airports, including Heathrow, were thrown into disarray after hackers seized check-in and boarding systems. (London Evening Standard) With cybercrime victims reportedly losing up to £73 million per minute in the first 10 minutes of an attack, it’s a stark wake-up call for businesses to strengthen their systems. (Raconteur)
Cash or card: shopper behaviour
What’s in and out of our baskets right now? This week, it’s all about wool, Wedgwood and increased prices on the waves.
- A load of crock(ery): Kitchen cupboards are getting less colourful as tighter budgets and smaller spaces mean traditional status symbols are falling off the menu. Once seen as a precious wedding gift, porcelain producer Wedgwood has faced heavy losses and devaluation even in second-hand markets, becoming a favourite for “charity crockery smashes”. (Telegraph) Shoppers are instead flocking to “dependable” brands such as Dunelm and Cotswold Company that help customers define their homes with less financial commitment. (This is Money)
- Back to Burberry: A new season may have just begun, but it’s the classics that are dominating this London Fashion Week. Argyle sweaters featured heavily in this year’s street style, integrating familiar patterns with a more laid-back twist. (Vogue) On the runway, Burberry’s festival-inspired vibes were likely continued backstage as – hours before the show – Britain’s biggest luxury brand rejoined the FTSE100 after dropping out last year. (Guardian)
- Upselling at sea: The era of all-inclusive maritime escapes continues to erode as cruise lines have started to introduce fees for specialty entertainment, such as supper clubs. The cover charges – which often include dinner, drinks or both – are being been rolled out as part of increased demand for more sophisticated immersive experiences. (Travel Weekly)
Making moves: industry changes & innovation
ICYMI, industry icons are reinvigorating their brand through unique and creative ways. Here are some movers and shakers that you should know about:
- Buzz beyond booze: Amid the downturn of global alcohol sales, competition is heating up among scientists in the race to create alcoholic-alternatives, promising the buzz of booze without the hang-xiety or headaches. In one corner, Professor David Nutt hopes his Alcarelle – a non-addictive and non-toxic “synthetic alcohol” – will be available for sale by 2027 pending safety testing, whilst rival company Clearmind expects its offering will be on shelves in a similar timeframe. (The Telegraph) As Gen Z ditches the bottle, and traditional bars make way for sober spaces, could investment in alcohol-alternatives be the silver bullet solution for Big Booze?
- Watt a flight: An electric plane built by US firm Beta Technologies completed a 100-mile flight in Norway earlier this month. The aircraft, named Alia, can fly up to 400km on a single charge and recharge in 40 minutes. But with range still the major limitation to the adoption of electric flight, manufacturers are increasingly pivoting to hybrid models, SAF and the potential of hydrogen in a bid to cut the industry’s 3% share of global emissions. (BBC News)
- Sweet surrender : Under new voluntary guidelines, baby food manufacturers have just 18 months to reduce sugar and salt levels in foods for children under 3 years. It comes as part of the Government’s broader crackdown on high HFSS products, with ads featuring ‘junk food’ being pulled from January 2026. However, campaigners have warned the prevalence of ultra-processed ingredients could therefore increase as brands look to retain palatability, priming children for a life of obesity. (The i)
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