Pumpkin Buying Rises 10 Per Cent As UK Growers Prepare For Halloween

Pumpkins are attracting more British shoppers ahead of Halloween, with 1.2 million households purchasing one in the four weeks to 4 October 2026, highlighting opportunities for producers like Aldi’s biggest pumpkin supplier Fen Farming which is gearing up for a record season.

Figures from Worldpanel by Numerator show the number of UK households buying pumpkins increased by 10 per cent compared with the same period last year, demonstrating growing seasonal interest as retailers prepare for 31 October. 

The autumn appetite extended to drinks, with more than 250,000 households purchasing pumpkin spice coffee over the latest month.  

Despite challenging growing conditions this year, UK producers are working to meet the rise in consumer demand for pumpkins.

Fen Farming expects to supply Aldi with more than 500,000 pumpkins this Halloween, which would mark a record volume, according to Grocer Trader. 

As consumer demand has increased, Fen Farming’s relationship with Aldi has grown, making it the discounter’s largest supplier of pumpkins.

Thanks to the 12-year partnership, Fen Farming’s annual supply has grown from 25,000 pumpkins when the agreement began in 2014.

Aldi has reportedly invested more than £750,000 to fund new pumpkin harvesting equipment and state-of-the-art washing technology at Fen Farming, which is based on the Cambridgeshire-Norfolk border.

“We’ve worked with the family for more than a decade and it’s fantastic to see how the partnership has grown, with Fen Farming now our largest supplier of pumpkins,” said Julie Ashfield, Chief Commercial Officer at Aldi UK.

Like many UK growers of pumpkins and fresh produce, Fen Farming has faced an exceptionally dry summer this year, creating difficult growing conditions.

“It’s been a challenging growing season because of the hot, dry weather, so we’ve had to adapt and find new ways to give the crop the best possible conditions,” explained Stuart Gibson, Sales Manager at Fen Farming.

“If the rest of the season goes well, this could be our biggest year yet supplying Aldi,” Gibson added.

The farm’s silt soils have retained moisture well which helped to protect this year’s pumpkin crop. 

The grower also adopted additional measures such as renting irrigated fields and modernising equipment to ensure seeds could be planted deeper and closer to moisture.

“Halloween is always one of the busiest and most exciting times of the year for us, and there’s nothing better than seeing pumpkins we’ve grown here in the Fens heading to Aldi stores across the country,” Gibson remarked.

UK Grocery Inflation Still Rising

The increase in pumpkin buying comes despite continued pressure on household budgets across the UK.

Like-for-like grocery price inflation reached 2.5 per cent during the four-week period, up from 2.3 per cent in Worldpanel by Numerator’s previous report. 

Spending on promotions was more than £250 million higher than a year earlier as shoppers sought ways to manage their bills. 

For fresh produce businesses, the pumpkin figures offer an encouraging early indication of Halloween demand.