Garden centres are reporting a hot new product trend over summer – literally.

New Zealand home improvement retailer Mitre 10 says sales of chilli bushes are rising this summer as Kiwis try their hand at growing their own spices.

The company has seen already seen a double digit increase on sales from this time last year, despite late February being when chilli sales typically peak – a sign that New Zealanders are getting to grips with the high-yield, low-maintenance crop.

Mitre 10 GM marketing Dave Elliott has a number of theories as to why chilli bushes are experiencing an explosion of popularity.

“Kiwis are a lot more conscious of where their food is coming from,” he said. “They are favouring fresh produce and realising the efficiency of home-grown herbs and vegetables. It’s actually very simple to give it a go at home and a lot more convenient to have a ready supply of your commonly used, or favourite, herbs and spices at hand.

“It’s also a reflection of our culture. We’re increasingly diverse and so are our lives, right down to what we’re cooking. Nowadays cuisine that was once somewhat exotic is commonplace, and so we are cooking with a greater variety of ingredients and experimenting with different flavours – chilli is particularly popular for that,” said Elliott.

“Added to this is the fact that chillis are very easy to grow, whether they’re in a container or a garden. They’re relatively pest- and disease-resistant and they’re a high-yielding crop. They’ve got all the ingredients for a popular plant.”