'Paddington' movie may account for a spike in marmalade ingredient sales

It appears a lot of British residents may have seen the movie “Paddington” and gotten a hankering for the titular bear’s favorite treat – marmalade.

According to the Guardian, following the November release of the movie (it came out this past January in the U.S.), sales of marmalade and the ingredients used to make it have been up in Britain. During the week after the movie came out, Robertson’s Golden Shred marmalade sales increased by 24 percent. Meanwhile, for the Certo company, sales of the marmalade ingredient pectin saw a 34 percent increase in sales year-on-year over the previous three months.

“While demand for Certo peaks over the summer months at the height of the summer-fruit, jam-making season, we’d typically expect a less pronounced increase in sales December to February with the arrival of Seville oranges,” Certo’s James Amar told the Daily Mail. “This year, sales have rocketed and it seems the bear from deepest, darkest Peru with a passion for marmalade has rekindled the nation’s appetite for this distinctive preserve.” 

Fans of the “Paddington” books by Michael Bond know that marmalade is one of the favorite snacks of the bear on which the series centers. Paddington grew up in Peru and travels to London, where he is found at Paddington Station by the Brown family. He goes to stay with them and the Browns name him after the area in which they found him. The film stars “Downton Abbey” actor Hugh Bonneville and actress Sally Hawkins as the Brown family patriarch and matriarch as well as Nicole Kidman as the villain, while Ben Whishaw of “Skyfall” voiced the bear.

The movie that was based on the books was fairly well-reviewed. The Associated Press called the film “engaging” in a review, writing, “For parents looking for a film that'll please them and their kids in equal measure, ‘Paddington’ is… just right… movies like this are easy to love.”