Why the humble pantry has become hot property once again

Pantries help to save on waste and encourage glass jar, rather than plastic storage.

Searches for pantries on the web via Google have gone up by 71 per cent in the last three years, and in a national poll, around half of respondents already had or wanted to have a pantry in their home.

To discover what is behind the current peak in popularity of the pantry, British brand Kilner conducted a UK study that revealed the following benefits to people who had them;

Reduced food wastage (24 per cent)

Prevention of unnecessary purchases (41 per cent)

Money saved on food bills (19 per cent)

Improved tidiness of kitchen organisations (70 per cent)

Reduced plastic wastage (15 per cent)

A walk-in pantry is a big bonus - but there are other alternatives if space is lacking.

It was seen that around 28 per cent of people would be more likely to purchase a property if it had a pantry, and 14 per cent of people find a pantry more appealing than a utility within a home.

Interestingly, pantries are more of a northern thing, as the Leeds area has the highest percentage of property listings with pantries in the UK, and people from London are least likely to own a pantry, according to data from Rightmove.

Other findings included that 16 per cent of people believe pantries help you become more eco-friendly, while 21 per cent said pantries help you to make that switch from plastic to glass storage.

Over 20 per cent felt pantries encouraged people to use refill stores, and 10 per cent of respondents saw the addition of a pantry as increasing property value.

People claim a pantry helps them to be more organised with their kitchen.

Collaborating with property valuation experts, Mortgageable www.mortgageable.co.uk , Kilner calculated that a pantry room conversion can add, on average, £14,150 to the value of a home.

The calculation was based on the average UK house price in August 2022 of £283,000 and converting an existing space rather than extending a floor plan.

Within the 10 largest cities in the UK, property that included a pantry was priced 105 per cent higher than the average property in that location, in part due to larger properties being more likely to have a pantry.

For people who do not own a pantry, the biggest factors holding them back were cited as the cost of installation and lack of space to install one.

Kilner collaborated with Louisa Eggleston at Humphry Munson to discover that there are cheaper ways to add pantry space in the home, from converting understairs cupboards to installing slimline floor to ceiling pantry cabinets for a fraction of the cost of a walk-in pantry.

Jo Booth, brand manager of Kilner, said: “Extending the shelf life of food in the home is more important than ever. With the rising cost of groceries, it’s no wonder people are looking for pantries to reduce food wastage and save money.

"It’s great to see people bringing pantries back into the modern home to help address the rising cost of living and tackle food wastage. As a result, we are keen to show people there is a pantry solution to suit all spaces and budgets.”

Find out more about how to create a pantry in your home at: www.kilnerjar.co.uk/blog/the-real-value-of-adding-a-pantry-to-your-home