Christmas boost for famous Ripon family butchers

By Graham Chalmers
Appletons butchers in Ripon.Appletons butchers in Ripon.
Appletons butchers in Ripon.

Pre-Christmas food figures may not have been exactly what our food and drink specialists may have hoped for this year but a locally-renowned specialist pork butchers in Ripon and Wetherby has certainly bucked the trend.

Family firm Appleton’s has reported record festive sales in its Ripon shop, in particular, with a year-on-year increase in sales of seven point five per cent overall.

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Owner Anthony Sterne said: “The figures are indicative of the fact consumers are demanding more from their Christmas suppliers this year. They want to shop somewhere were they can get that personal service and high quality products.

Pork pies and roast ham did particularly well in the pre-Christmas rush at Appleton’s, which first opened in Ripon more than a century ago.

Anthony said: “We’ve seen the reverse with a sharp rise in sales of our back bacon and gammon in November compared with November 2013, with back bacon up by 44 per cent and gammon steaks up by 53 per cent.”

Appleton’s sales hike is in stark contrast to a study published by data analysts Information Resources (IRI), which showed a slow down in Christmas food sales, with gammon, beef and bacon down by -5%, compared with last November.

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A traditional Yorkshire pork butcher, this family firm opened a new shop in Wetherby in June,

It specialises in products such as pork pies, cured whole hams and cooked meats.

Its ox tongue is still pickled, boiled and hand pressed using the methods handed down from generations of Appletons.