Made in England ResearchSurvey finding
Three in ten would pick a hamper as a luxury food gift. A restaurant meal is the most popular single choice, on one in five
Asked what appeals to them most in "a luxury food and drink gift", 20% of adults in England chose a fine dining restaurant experience. 31% chose one of two kinds of hamper, and 23% said nothing in particular.
Key findings
- A fine dining restaurant experience is the most popular single option, chosen by 20% of adults in England.
- 31% chose a hamper: 16% one guaranteed to contain only food and drink made in England, and 15% one from a well-known department store brand.
- The two hampers are level. A guarantee that everything inside is made in England appeals to as many people as a well-known department store name.
- 15% chose a personalised gift box and 10% a bottle of wine or spirits. 23% said nothing in particular appeals to them.
No runaway favourite
People were asked what, if anything, appeals to them most in "a luxury food and drink gift", and could give one answer. No option was chosen by as many as one in four. The most common answer of all was "nothing in particular", on 23%.
Among the gifts themselves, a fine dining restaurant experience came first on 20%. Three options followed close together: a hamper guaranteed to contain only food and drink made in England (16%), a hamper from a well-known department store brand (15%) and a personalised gift box (15%). A bottle of wine or spirits was the choice of 10%.
| Answer | % |
|---|---|
| Nothing in particular | 23% |
| A fine dining restaurant experience | 20% |
| A hamper guaranteed to contain only food and drink made in England | 16% |
| A hamper from a well-known department store brand | 15% |
| A personalised gift box | 15% |
| A premium bottle of wine or spirits | 10% |
| Other | 1% |
The two hampers are level
Taken together, the two hampers were the first choice of 31%, more than chose the restaurant.
Between the two there is nothing in it: 16% chose the hamper guaranteed to be all English-made and 15% the hamper from a well-known department store brand. A one-point gap is well inside the margin of error for a survey of this size, so neither is ahead. What the result does show is that a guarantee about where everything in the hamper is made appeals to as many people as a famous name on the lid.
Reading the numbers
The question offered six kinds of gift and asked for one answer, so it shows first choices only. It does not show what people would be pleased to receive, or what they buy.
MadeInEngland.com sells hampers and gift boxes of food and drink made in England, so it has a commercial interest in this question. The table above shows every answer option and its result.
Two related findings from the same survey: 24% would pay 20% more for an English-made food or drink gift of equal quality, and 25% most associate England with "premium food and drink gifting", ahead of Italy and France.
Methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide among a sample of 2,001 adults in England, nationally representative of those aged 18 and over. Fieldwork ran from 13 to 16 April 2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society and the British Polling Council and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge, and abides by the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles. Survey reference J17714CWMP. Full results for all 20 questions.
Notes for editors
The full data tables (Excel), including breakdowns by gender, age, region and nearest city, can be downloaded. Charts and figures may be reproduced with credit to Made in England Research. Please link to the page you took them from. Marcus Holland, founder of MadeInEngland.com, is available for interview and further comment. Contact: marcus@madeinengland.com, 07983 818291.
Suggested citation
Made in England Research/Censuswide, survey of 2,001 adults in England, 13 to 16 April 2026.