Ninety-six days before Easter, Australia’s major supermarket chains have begun packing shelves with hot cross buns on Boxing Day.

Once available for just one or two weeks a year around Easter, the buns’ popularity have steadily grown in recent years to become an obsession that grips Australian shoppers.

During their three-month season, bakeries and supermarkets now collectively sell hundreds of millions of buns to fulfil consumers’ insatiable appetites.

Woolworths, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, has a range of the baked goods on sale this Boxing Day, including a new fairy bread flavoured variety.

Woolies bakery merchandise manager Donald Keith said despite there still being months until the Easter holiday, hot cross buns had proven to be a popular choice for consumers.

“Each and every year our customers show that it’s never too early for hot cross buns and we expect to sell around 1.8 million buns in this first week alone,” Mr Keith said.

Woolworths’ major rival, Coles, is also cashing in on demand for the Easter treat, with the product also hitting shelves on Boxing Day.

Included in its offering this Easter is the return of the “limited edition” vegemite and cheese hot cross bun, which ostensibly “tastes like Australia”, according to the supermarket chain.

Last year, Coles sold more than 2.5 million hot cross buns in the week to December 31.

For shoppers looking for value for money amid the nation’s continued cost-of-living crunch, the humble fruit hot cross bun is priced at $4 at Woolworths for a six pack. At Coles, the same product is slightly more expensive at $4.50.

However, shoppers looking for other Easter items may be disappointed. Easter eggs are yet to be stocked at either of the supermarket majors.