Every Independence Day weekend, Americans prepare a feast to commemorate our country, our freedom, the invention of light beer, and the gift of long summer days. But mostly, it's a feast. Americans will spend an estimated $7.1 billion on food during the holiday weekend, retailers expect.
It's "one of the biggest food holidays of the year," a Wal-Mart spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.
The most consumed food: burgers, according to NPD. Last year, Americans bought $804 million worth of beef leading up to the holiday and $371 million worth of chicken, Nielsen data shows.
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After burgers, steak, and chicken, hot dogs are the fourth most popular food on people's grills, NPD said. For Wal-Mart, Texas is the number-one burger and hot dog market.
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Grilling seafood is less popular than all those meats, but we still bought $85.1 million worth of shrimp and $48.4 million of salmon, according to Nielsen.
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Americans spent $43 million on barbecue sauce last Independence Day, topping ketchup's $37 million and mustard's $25 million.
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And while rosé is still a tiny part of the wine business, it's also the fastest growing. Sales grew 53% in the 52 weeks ending in mid-April.
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Another new alternative to beer: hard seltzer, which Nielsen said rakes in $60 million annually in sales and is growing.
via BuzzFeed/Food
