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With the August bank holiday approaching, retailers are giving shoppers more reasons than ever to fire up the grill. Burgers and sausages remain essential, but this year’s supermarket ranges show just how far the BBQ fixture has evolved, spanning globally inspired marinades, premium seafood, inventive accompaniments and bulk-buy bargains.

According to IGD, 15% of shoppers had hosted or attended a barbecue by mid-July, while 19% said they had bought more barbecue food than usual. The organisation identifies innovation, convenience and premiumisation as important ways for retailers and suppliers to grow baskets around the occasion. 

Here are six trends shaping supermarket BBQ ranges in 2026.

Global flavours turn up the heat

The British barbecue is becoming increasingly international. Tesco’s expanded Fire Pit range includes piri piri pork riblets, Cajun hot honey chicken wings, Tex-Mex sausage skewers and mango, coconut and lime fish skewers. Its Finest range adds Red Thai-inspired pork belly and chimichurri sauce.

M&S is casting an even wider net with Korean-style ribs and steak kebabs, Turkish-style beef kebabs, lamb merguez sausages, yakitori chicken kebabs and chicken tikka burgers. At Co-op, Mediterranean inspiration runs through its wider summer range, from chorizo with port and balsamic glaze to ’nduja bravas.

Rather than asking shoppers to master unfamiliar techniques, retailers are applying recognisable global flavours to accessible formats such as burgers, kebabs, sausages and chicken wings.

Seafood earns its place on the grill

Fish is no longer an afterthought in the supermarket BBQ fixture. Searches on the Waitrose website for “BBQ fish” rose by 273%, while searches for barbecue fish recipes increased by 210% year on year, according to reporting in the Grocery Gazette. The retailer has responded with a £23 Fish BBQ Box featuring products including scallops, sablefish and tiger prawns.

Tesco has added mango, coconut and lime fish skewers and sweet and smoky barbecue salmon skewers, while M&S lists king prawn and ’nduja king prawn skewers.

Asda, meanwhile, has taken the smash-burger trend into new territory with Red Thai Salmon Smash Burgers. Its product developers describe the launch as a combination of two reassuringly familiar elements, salmon and Asian flavour, with the less expected twist of a smash-burger format.

Sweet heat still has momentum

The combination of sweetness and chilli remains one of the clearest flavour trends of the summer. Hot honey appears in Tesco’s halloumi kebabs and Cajun chicken wings, while M&S has introduced Hot Honey Sauce and a spiced honey spatchcock chicken.

Fruit is also being used to make heat more complex and approachable. M&S offers sauces combining chipotle with pineapple and garlic, habanero with mango and turmeric, and jalapeño with Bramley apple and lime. Elsewhere, barbecue ranges are layering chilli with smoke, char, bourbon, miso and sticky glazes.

For suppliers, the opportunity lies not simply in increasing heat levels, but in balancing chilli with sweetness, acidity and umami.

Burgers get the restaurant treatment

The burger is being upgraded rather than displaced. Tesco Finest has introduced burgers featuring chuck, brisket and bone marrow, dry-aged Aberdeen Angus beef and cherrywood-smoked beef. Asda’s Buttered Miso Beef Steak Burger, finished with a bourbon mopping glaze, was named Best Burger 2026 in the Good Housekeeping barbecue taste test.

M&S is exploring dry-aged beef, Aberdeen Angus and smashed formats, while Iceland is taking the smash burger firmly into the value mainstream with a 20-pack.

Breads and toppings are evolving alongside the patties. Brioche, potato and Japanese-style milk buns sit alongside gochujang mayonnaise, fiery pickles, roasted garlic aioli and flavoured cheese melts, helping shoppers construct a more distinctive burger at home.

Sides move to centre stage

Retailers are paying far more attention to everything surrounding the grill. Tesco has launched Buffalo potato salad, four-cheese potato salad and a Texan-style barbecue potato and bean salad, alongside US-inspired chopped salad kits.

Asda has developed Pickled Burger Slaw and Pickled Kebab Slaw, while Co-op’s summer selection includes pesto and pecorino coleslaw. M&S brings together fiery pickles, pickled red onions, cornichons, sauces, relishes and flavoured oils.

This creates opportunities well beyond meat and meat alternatives. Accompaniments can bring colour, texture and trend-led flavours to the occasion while encouraging shoppers to add more products to their baskets.

Premium hosting meets value and convenience

Supermarkets are serving very different budgets, but convenience connects the market. Waitrose’s butcher and fish BBQ boxes target shoppers seeking an elevated yet effortless hosting experience, while Asda’s large rump steak King Kebab creates a ready-made sharing centrepiece.

At the other end of the spectrum, Morrisons has promoted low-cost meat bundles and Iceland is leaning into large packs and mix-and-match deals. Co-op is targeting the last-minute “pop to the shop” mission, while Tesco and Asda highlight oven and air-fryer options for products that can survive a sudden change in the weather.

The strongest retail ranges recognise that there is no single BBQ shopper. This bank holiday, the winning proposition could be a premium seafood spread, an internationally inspired sharing feast or simply enough burgers and sausages to feed a crowd.