New data from Sainsbury's today reveals that Britain's biscuit lovers have munched their way through a massive 141 million packets of biscuits over the last year, amounting to 11.7m packets bought each month, 2.7 million per week, 542,000 per day, 22,596 per hour and 376 packets per minute.  The figures reveal that the nation's favourite dunking companion is the humble digestive - selling almost 17 million packets per year.

Sainsbury's customer data, which accounts for approximately 12 million shoppers (data collected by Nectar), has revealed the nation's top five biscuit tin favourites:

1. Digestives

2. Cookies

3. Jam Rings

4. Chocolate Fingers

5. Rich Teas

The infographic illustrates which biscuits are the most popular in each region, after the much-loved digestive.

Claire Goldhill, Sainsbury's Biscuit Developer said: "Biscuits are a staple of British culture, with millions of us enjoying them as a sweet treat - there's no surprise to see these high numbers. Sainsbury's biscuit aisle is one of the busiest, we're forever replenishing stock."

Andre Erasmus, editor of Biscuit World, the industry's leading trade publication said: "Well done the biscuit! This little round entity is a strong cultural identity of Britain, and has been around since the 1600s. The digestive biscuit and the rich tea are both considered as a traditional accompaniment to a cuppa, so it's no surprise to see them in the top five favourites. The jam ring in third spot was more of a surprise to us."

Sainsbury's data provides a breakdown for each region in the UK, showing that the Scots have become converts of the jam ring, as have Wales and the North-West; those up North are massive fans of the fig roll, whilst Northern Ireland are partial to a Jaffa cake. Down south, it's the Londoners who have been revealed to love a good crumbly cookie. The infographic illustrates which biscuits are the most popular in each region, after the much loved digestive.

The data has been released to celebrate Sainsbury's launch of over 100 new and improved lines, coming to biscuit aisles nationwide this week.