15 hours Ago By Kate Emery
With Christmas lunch and arguments over who will make the gravy now done and dusted, the timing is ripe for a fresh debate: is the arrival of hot cross buns in supermarkets on the 26th a festive miracle or an abomination? Surely no other baked good provokes quite the same degree of hand-wringing as the humble hot cross bun, which dropped into Coles, Woolworths and Aldi the day after Christmas. Traditionalists lament the early arrival of the Easter favourite as too much too soon, and a sign of the commercialisation of religious holidays. Fans, meanwhile, welcome yet another festive-season indulgence and an opportunity to gorge on an ever-expanding variety of buns.
On social media it is the low-stakes battle that divides Australians every year. “Dear @Woolworths & @Coles — how about we let this year end first before putting out Hot Cross Buns for the Easter of a year that hasn’t even started yet - surely you can wait 7 days?” wrote one frustrated shopper on X. Another was more enthusiastic: “Why can’t the supermarket just give up and sell hot Cross buns all year round?” Others had more practical concerns, like a fridge running low on Christmas treats: “Hot cross buns out yet? I’m running low on trifle!” they wrote.
In another move sure to trigger traditionalists, the trend towards new flavours of hot cross buns shows no signs of abating. Coles this year is selling varieties include apple and cinnamon, chocolate, fruit free and hot cross buns inspired by Arnott’s Iced Vovo biscuit. The divisive Vegemite and cheese hot cross buns are also back on shelves.
Woolworths is selling its Cadbury Caramilk and fairy bread varieties. Retail analyst Barry Urquhart, of Marketing Focus, said, from a branding perspective, supermarkets — which are motivated by their bottom line and start selling hot cross buns on Boxing Day because they tend to sell well — could easily rebrand them as “currant buns” or “fruit buns” if they wanted to. He said the dilution of hot cross bun season was part of a broader problem, where some retailers started “Boxing Day sales” days before December 26 and “Black Friday” sales became “Black November” sales.
“Why are they doing it? Well, it’s panic because they worry about sales, missing out, and cashflows,” he said. Woolworths bakery merchandise manager Donald Keith said, while the traditional fruit six-pack remained its most popular hot cross bun option, plenty of shoppers were happy to go less traditional. “Customers could not get enough of the fairy bread flavour last year,” he said.
An ALDI spokesperson said the supermarket, which already has traditional, chocolate and gluten-free hot cross buns in store, also planned to drop some new varieties closer to Easter. “As one of the most popular seasonal ranges in stores, each year we experience increasing demand for Hot Cross Buns to be available earlier in the year,” they said. Coles bakery general manager Brad Gorman was — unsurprisingly — one of those excited to see the hot cross buns out on shelves already.
This season 20c from every packet of Coles hot cross buns sold will go to childhood cancer support charity Redkite. “We’re incredibly proud of our 11-year partnership with Redkite, through which we’ve supported more than 8500 families dealing with some of life’s toughest challenges,” Mr Gorman said. Redkite supports children like 12-year-old Zoe, who was diagnosed with cancer two years ago.
Zoe’s mum Susannah said the charity had been there “every step of the way”. “When your child is diagnosed with cancer, your whole world changes overnight. .
. it’s that kind of support you need when everything feels so overwhelming,” she said. Since 2013 Coles has raised more than $54 million.
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