Hubbub #EatYourPumpkin Polling 2023 The following document outlines the results from polling commissioned by Hubbub that explores behaviours and attitudes to Halloween activities and eating pumpkins. A total of 2000 UK respondents completed the survey distributed by Censuswide in 2023. This was completed as part of our 10th annual #EatYourPumpkin campaign which encourages people to think about food waste alongside saving money by eating the pumpkin they traditionally use for decoration at Halloween. A summary of key findings from this year's research and comparison to those in previous years can be found below. You can find out more about the campaign here or get in touch at hello@hubbub.org.uk A brief comparison of findings over the years:
Predicted for 2023 2.08
2022
2021
2020
2019
2015
2.15
2.31
2.11
1.69
0.78*
Number of pumpkins carved in total Proportion that were not eaten Number of pumpkins that were not eaten
30.43 million1
38.64 million2
35.44 million3
32.65 million4
24.74 million5
21 million6
n/a
52%
49%
41%
54%
69%
11.89 million
13.36 million
15 million
Proportion that were composted Proportion that put their pumpkins in the food waste Proportion that put their
n/a
42%
14.5 million (if follow same 41% pattern as last year) 35%
32%
32%
30%
n/a
36%
33%
26%
28%
47%
n/a
13%
13%
16%
16%
27%
Mean no of pumpkins each household bought for carving
15.82 million 22.23 (if follow million same 52% pattern as last year)
pumpkins in the regular bin Proportion that put pumpkins out for the birds
n/a
19%
28%
23%
25%
Proportion that think you can eat carving pumpkins Proportion that celebrate Halloween
57%
59%
59%
53%
42%
(not an option in this survey but only 1% selected they did something else with them aside from bin and compost n/a
51.89%
64.65%
64.65%
55.67%
50%
n/a
*General population (in this survey people were not asked if they celebrated Halloween) **These were the predicted figures that appeared in 2022 press release based on 2022 survey and not the actual results. The 2023 survey shows that in 2022 people actually bought on average 2.15 pumpkins per household. Calculations have not been updated but can be if requested. ***In 2016 the questions on pumpkin use were asked retrospectively, so asking about consumption in 2015 whereas the subsequent year’s research was carried out asking respondents about usage before the event. 128.2 million households 2023 x 51.89% who celebrate Halloween x 2.08 = 30.43 million 2 27.8 million households 2022 x 64.65% who celebrate Halloween x 2.22 = 38.64 million 327.8 million households 2021 x 55.67% who celebrate Halloween x 2.29 = 35.44 million 427.8 million households 2020 x 55.67% who celebrate Halloween x 2.11 = 32.65 million 527.8 million households 2020 x 50% who celebrate Halloween x 1.78 = 24.74 million 627 million households 2016 x 0.78 = 21 million
Key Observations •
The number of pumpkins carved has decreased by 24% which is likely due to the decrease in the number of people celebrating Halloween.
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Opting to cook instead of carve your pumpkin saves the equivalent of 95 million meals going to waste
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1.9m million households that carve pumpkins do not enjoy it, which supports our positioning of decorating instead of carving which also keeps your pumpkin fresher for longer.
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The average cost of a pumpkin went up 22p from £1.47 in 2021 to £1.69 in 2022. That makes the value of food going to waste £26.7m
Celebrating Halloween •
52% of people celebrate Halloween (compared to 65% last year and 56% in 2021)
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30% of those who do not celebrate Halloween say the reason for not doing so is because they can’t be bothered with all the faff o This was the most common reason among households with two children under 18 living at home (34%)
Decorating Pumpkins •
More than half (55%) of those who celebrate Halloween use the traditional method of pumpkin decorating – scooping out the pumpkin and carving shapes in the skin
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Only 8% decorate their pumpkin with paint/things that can be stuck on, to avoid having to scoop it out
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7% have a fake, reusable pumpkin that they can recycle each year
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7% draw/paint a pumpkin each year instead of decorating one
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The differences above highlight the significance of carving a pumpkin at Halloween.
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One fifth of those who celebrate Halloween say they do not enjoy carving pumpkins o Of those who do not enjoy carving pumpkins, one third say their reasons for not enjoying it is because they find it a hassle, while the same number of people don’t like the mess it creates o This was followed closely by people saying they find it hard work scooping out the pumpkin and then carving it (30%) o One fifth say they always like the idea of carving pumpkins but hate it when they actually do it o 16% do not like carving pumpkins at Halloween because they feel it is wasteful
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62% of those who celebrate Halloween and do not enjoy carving pumpkins are people with one or more children under 18 living at home. The reasons cited by them being: o 23% feel under pressure to find the biggest pumpkin to decorate o 17% don’t enjoy it because they end up doing the carving themselves so their kids don't hurt themselves o 9% end up doing the carving themselves as their kids lose interest o 8% worry their children are going to injure themselves carving a pumpkin o 5% find there's too much pressure from social media for them to look good
Pumpkin Purchasing The following stats refer to those who celebrate Halloween Plans to purchase in 2023 Only 17%, will not buy (10%) or don’t know (7%), if they will buy at least one pumpkin for carving this year – up from 13% last year, meaning 83% will buy at least one pumpkin this year compared to 87% last year (and 77% in 2021) •
25% will buy one
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28% will buy two
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16% will buy three
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9% will buy four
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Mean planned 2.08
Behaviour reported this year about 2022 Halloween (Of those who celebrate Halloween) •
89% bought at least one pumpkin for carving last year
•
25% bought one (an increase on 20% the year before)
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30% bought two (a decrease from 35% the year before)
•
19% bought three
•
10% bought four
•
Mean bought 2.15
How many get eaten? (Of those who bought pumpkins at Halloween last year) Despite a growing awareness of carving pumpkins being edible, the number of pumpkins actually eaten dropped from 59% to 51%. •
23% ate 1
•
16% ate 2
• •
6% ate 3 Mean eaten: 0.88 (compared to 0.98 in 2022 and 1.24 in 2020)
How they are disposed of (Of those who celebrated Halloween last year) •
42% composted them
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36% threw in food waste bin (an increase from 26% the previous year)
•
19% put out for the birds (down from 28% - perhaps due to campaigns advising people not to do this)
•
13% threw in regular bin
Are they edible? •
19% don’t think you can eat carving pumpkins bought from the supermarket (down from 23% in 2020)
•
24% don’t know
•
57% think you can eat them
Views on pumpkins as food •
19% said no-one in their household likes it (compared to 21% last year)
•
18% don’t like the taste themselves (3% less than last year)
•
15% don’t know how to cook with pumpkin (compared to 18% in 2022)
•
12% don’t think of pumpkin as food (meaning 88% do)
•
One in ten aren’t confident about the parts that can be eaten (compared to 13% in 2022)
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9% find it really hard work to get the flesh out of a pumpkin for eating
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7% always cook pumpkin at Halloween
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7% only eat ‘cooking’ pumpkins or squash, not carving pumpkins
Views on pumpkins that have been carved as food •
9% often don’t get around to cooking the pumpkin carvings and end up throwing them away
•
9% can’t be bothered to cook with the pumpkins they carve (the same number of people as last year)
•
8% cook with the seeds from their carved pumpkins
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6% don’t think the carving leftovers offer enough to make a meal
Pumpkin size •
Only 7% of those who celebrate Halloween like a small pumpkin at Halloween
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Almost half (49%) like a medium sized pumpkin, whilst a third like theirs large o The most common reason for the size of pumpkin people choose, is the size they prefer to carve o However, a third of those who prefer a small pumpkin, say their reason is because they feel a small one reduces food waste. This is compared to 0% of those who choose to buy a large pumpkin! o Only 25% of those who choose a large pumpkin say they do so because they prefer the eating that size, compared to 33% of those who prefer a medium sized pumpkin and 30% who choose a small pumpkin for this reason o Similarly, 30% who prefer small pumpkins say they prefer the taste of that size, while 28% of those who choose medium do so for the taste and less than a quarter (24%) of those who buy large pumpkins say they do so because they prefer the taste
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These stats suggest that carving has more of an influence than flavour on the size of the pumpkin people choose to buy.
Eating pumpkins outside of Halloween •
Only 6% of all respondents eat pumpkins throughout the season, not just at Halloween
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Of those who have tried pumpkin, 31% have bought pumpkin for eating other than at Halloween o 18% of those respondents say they tend to buy squash instead of pumpkin as they prefer it o Almost a quarter (23%) say they find ‘cooking’ pumpkins and squash more tasty to eat o More than a fifth (21%) buy pumpkins because they are great value for money o 21% say they buy them because they can get more than one meal out of them o 15% find they waste less when they cook with ‘cooking’ pumpkins or squash, instead of carving pumpkins o 17% say they only buy the smaller varieties to eat compared to 10% who only buy large carving pumpkins to eat
Freezing pumpkins •
16% say they are aware that pumpkins can be chopped up and frozen but never do this (compared to 30% in 2022)
Favourite flavour to go with pumpkins •
28% have never tried pumpkin (compared to 21% in 2022 and 26% in 2021)
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Cinnamon is still the most popular accompaniment – for 7%, followed by honey (5%), chilli, orange and paprika (all at 4% each)
Dishes tried before from the given list Of those who have tried pumpkin before: • 42% soup / 28% pie / 29% seeds / 25% roasted / 14% curry /10% stew / 18% none of the noted dishes/foods