Marks and Spencer is broadening its selection of budget-friendly food products as it aims to challenge the dominance of the 'big six' supermarkets — Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons — in attracting family shoppers. The high street stalwart, traditionally recognised for its premium own-label offerings, is now claiming the title of Britain's fastest-expanding grocer among households, according to checkout data from industry analysts Worldpanel.
Recent YouGov polling indicates a three percentage point rise over the past two years in the proportion of families willing to shop at M&S Food, whilst family perceptions of the retailer's value have jumped by 10 percentage points during the same timeframe. This month alone has seen the introduction of over 30 fresh value products, featuring household essentials such as 500g and 750g portions of 5% fat beef mince and 1kg bags of frozen sweetcorn.
The retailer reported that sales of its value ranges, encompassing 'remarksable value', 'dropped and locked' and 'bigger pack, better value' lines, climbed 20% in last year's third quarter, with the 'remarksable value' range having doubled in scale since 2023. Top performers included loose bananas at 90p per kilogram, a substantial 1.5kg lasagne priced at £9 and a dozen free-range eggs for £3.30.
Sales of the beef mince have soared by 80% since its addition to the 'remarksable value' collection. The range has welcomed more than 40 products since 2023, featuring select farms red cooking onions (£1.10), 500g Greek style yoghurt 0% fat (£1.15) and traditional Scottish oats 1kg (£1.25).
M&S emphasised these weren't 'entry level' ranges that cut corners on quality or portion sizes, but rather the 'same high-quality products customers expect from M&S but at a lower price point, enabled by investment in value from the retailer'. The retailer has stated its ambition to double the size of its food business and pledged to continue investing in its value lines.
Kara Greatorex, chief commercial officer at M&S Food, explained: 'For M&S, becoming a shopping list retailer is about offering core ingredients and products at the right price without compromising on quality. Over the last few years, we have improved the remarksable value range by lowering the price of core shopping trolley essentials, whilst retaining the quality and sourcing credentials M&S is known for. Families are now more likely than ever to come to M&S Food for trusted value and to help them when they shop with us, there are now over 250 products across M&S Food's three value ranges, remarksable value, dropped and locked, and bigger pack, better value.'
