Bananas and Twistees are the top-selling foods in people’s shopping carts, beating staples like bread, eggs and cheese, according to data from a major supermarket.

A list of the most popular 300 items sold at the supermarket in Birkirkara seen by Times of Malta shows just how much the country loves the fruit and the addictive, cheesy snack.

Bananas rank number two in the list of bestsellers, second only to mineral water, and has held firm to its best-selling position on the list for at least the past three years. 

A litre of milk comes next on the list, followed by the locally produced cheesy snack, with its original flavour 50g pack consistently placing fourth in the list of most sold products.

The low fat, low salt version ranks at 153, while bacon flavoured Twistees placed at 167.

The closest-ranking snack on the shopping list is a foreign brand of crisps which places at number 30.

White bread over wholemeal

Bread hovers around the sixth and ninth places: burger buns and panini are the best performers in the bread section.

A small ftira comes in at 11thplace, while the Maltese ħobża lags at number 42, with other types of bread such as ciabattas and rolls placing higher than the Maltese loaf. A loaf of sliced white bread produced by a leading industrial bakery takes the edge over the traditional ħobża, too, placing in 40th position. 

The Maltese ħobża lags at number 42.

Wholemeal bread is much less popular, in 136th position.

Milk, unsurprisingly, scores high on the list of best sellers, with Benna’s 2.5% fat milk in the light blue carton holding its place steady at number three.

Its skimmed counterpart hovers at around fifth place, while the fattier version, whole milk places at 14.

When it comes to flavoured milk, shoppers prefer chocolate (ranked 94) over strawberry (placed 125 on the list).

The other foods which make it to the top 20 include strawberries, baked beans and Three Hills tomato paste.

And the top 100 items sold also include tuna, oranges, onions, cauliflower, ricotta, chicken legs, yoghurts, eggs, minced beef, flour, pesto and sugar. 

Non-food items that make the top 100 include toilet paper and small bin liners.

Twistees are not the only local brand to be among the top-selling items.

Unsurprisingly, Kinnie is among the favourites.

Shoppers are also loyal to locally made Kinnie, with its unique flavour of orange and aromatic herbs. It is the most popular carbonated drink on the supermarket’s list, placing at number 90.

Surprisingly, pasta just misses the 100-mark, with penne placing at 101 and spaghetti at 197.

A close penne follower is tomato paste (kunserva) at 102 and potatoes at 105. Chopped tomatoes come in at 111 and tomato pulp places at 159.

The most popular coffee is Nescafé’s classic instant, ranking 112nd on the list, and, of the different coffee flavours available in the Nescafe Dolce Gusto range, cappuccino is the most sold (137).

Tetley tea, meanwhile, places at 148 in the list.

The following were the top 20 items sold at one major supermarket in April...

• San Michel Still Water Pkt 6x2Lt
• Bananas
• Benna Milk 2.5% Fat 1Ltr
• Twistees Cheese Snack 50Gr
• Benna Skimmed Milk 0.3% Fat 1Ltr
• Bakery Panini Malji
• Golden Drop Sunflower Oil 1Ltr
• Grated Cheese 200Gr
• Bakery Burger Buns
• Strawberry Large Box App 500gr
• Bakery Small Ftira
• Fresh Eggs X 6
• Bakery Small Buns
• Benna Whole Milk 3.5% Fat 1Ltr
• Stork Margarine 250G
• Bakery Rolls
• San Michel Water 0.5Lt
• Three Hills Tomato Paste 415G
• Levissima Mineral Water 6x1.5Lt
• Happy Chef Baked Beans 230g