Iceland Foods boss, Richard Walker, says ‘we must do what we can to save hot dinners’ which includes ditching the use of cookers and switching to more energy efficient appliances, as Iceland’s research[1] revealed that over half of Brits (53%) plan on either reducing or cutting out hot meals completely in the coming months.

The study shows that over one quarter (27%) of Brits say they don’t see any alternative to cutting out hot meals because otherwise they simply won’t be able to afford their energy bills.

This figure is nearly double for those in the lowest income group, which is £15,000 or less, of which over 40% gave this answer.

And it seems that the younger population are more willing to take the hit, with 19% saying they would cut them out completely, compared to only 7% of those over 55.

However, an overwhelming 90% of Brits are feeling ‘concerned’ about the impact of rising energy bills, and only 5% are feeling at all relaxed about the situation.

This anxiousness is filtering through to households on the lowest income the most, with over two-thirds (65%) of those on a salary of £15,000 or less saying they’re ‘very concerned’. In comparison, only four in ten (39%) of those earning over £65,000 gave this answer.

The supermarket recently announced its sales of 4L Tower air fryers for an incredibly low-cost price of £35. The products, which launched in stores and online on Saturday 8^th October, were snapped off shelves in less than a week and Iceland is hoping these customers can use their air fryers to take on The Big Cooker Switch Off Challenge.

The supermarket is especially keen to do this following their findings that, when asking the British public whether they felt like they had a good understanding of the benefits of using low-cost appliances, nearly half (46.15%) either answered ‘no’ or ‘somewhat, but they would like to know more’.

Richard Walker, Managing Director at Iceland Foods, said: “Choosing between heating and eating shouldn’t be a decision anyone ever has to make, we must do what we can to save hot dinners. This is why we are asking our customers to join us in The Big Cooker Switch Off Challenge, so they can see just how easy it is to solely use appliances that are going to save them money. It’s going to be these small changes that could mean having a regular hot meal this winter.”

Iceland customers can pledge to switch off their cookers for an entire week, starting from 31^st October, via this link and the first 1,000 customers to sign up will receive a £5 voucher via email, to spend on one online shop at Iceland.

To guide them through a cooker-free week, Iceland will be sharing air fryer recipe ideas and instructions on its recently launched blog, Affoodable.

For more information, please visit www.iceland.co.uk.

[1] Survey conducted by Censuswide with over 2,000 participants (October, 2022)