Christmas was less than two weeks ago. Is it too soon for hot cross buns?
Better gobble down the Christmas cake, because Easter treats are already in the shops.
Move over, chocolate Santas and candy canes, Easter treats are on the way.
It may be just a couple of weeks since Christmas - and 12 weeks until Easter - but hot cross buns are already on sale at some New Zealand supermarkets.
“Each year our customers tell us it’s never too early for hot cross buns, and the numbers back that up," says Woolworths' merchandise manager for bakery Michael Whorskey.
Michael Whorskey, Woolworths NZ merchandise manager for bakery, says there's lots of early demand for hot cross buns.
Woolworths NZ
If that sounds a bit premature, consider this: some supermarkets in Aotearoa sell 'uncrossed' fruit buns year-round. In Australia, hot cross buns have been on sale since Boxing Day.
Whorskey says Woolworths' decision to put the buns on sale from 5 January is influenced by consistent customer demand for the traditional Easter treat.
"We sold more than 1.7 million in-store baked units last season, with traditional dried fruit still reigning supreme, so we’re responding to what customers clearly want rather than the calendar.”
The chain will be selling a dozen different varieties of hot cross buns - from fruitless to a cream cheese-filled cinnabon style - with five cents from every packet sold going to children's charity KidsCan.
Nada Bakery's award-winning hot cross buns.
Nada Bakery
A Foodstuffs South Island spokesperson says that while the spicy scent of hot cross buns has been wafting through the bakeries of some stores already, supply and demand will start to heat up more in February.
"While Easter is definitely the most popular time, some customers don’t like to let a celebration or date on the calendar stand between them and their favourite hot cross bun, so some of our stores make smaller quantities year-round," the spokesperson says.
Is January too early for hot cross buns?
Wellington's Nada Bakery took top prize at the 2025 Baking NZ Great Hot Cross Bun Competition. Owner and baker Michael Gray says customers have been asking about hot cross buns since December, but he's holding out on producing them until February.
"People always want something different and to move on to the next thing, they don't want to wait.
"We wanted to clear Christmas and get a bit of breathing space for our team and to the public before we started hot cross buns."
Hot cross buns are to bakeries what red roses on Valentine's Day are to florists, says Baking NZ president Bernie Sugrue.
Seriously Low Carb / Unsplash
Gray says hot cross buns represent an important chunk of income for bakeries, so he can understand why some of his competitors, including supermarkets, might want to get in early.
Baking NZ president Bernie Sugrue says he thinks three months ahead of Easter is a respectable time to start making hot cross buns.
"It's a bit like florists and Valentine's Day. Bakeries don't have Black Friday or Boxing Day sales, so they want to get in there with hot cross buns."
