Marks & Spencer (M&S) is expanding its range of “value” food items as it seeks to position itself as a competitor of the “big six” supermarkets among families.
The retailer, known for its high-end own-brand food products, is claiming to be the fastest-growing grocer among families, based on till receipts data from analysts Worldpanel.
YouGov figures also suggest a three percentage point uptick over the last two years in families now likely to consider shopping at M&S Food while perceptions of value at M&S among families has improved by 10 percentage points over the same period.
It has launched more than 30 new value products this month, including core family items such as 500g and 750g packs of 5% fat beef mince and 1kg bags of frozen sweetcorn.
Sales of M&S value lines, including “remarksable value”, “dropped & locked” and “bigger pack, better value” items were up 20% in the third quarter of last year while the “remarksable value” range alone had doubled in size since 2023, it said.
Bestsellers included loose bananas costing 90p for 1kg, a 1.5kg lasagne for £9 and a dozen free-range eggs for £3.30.
Sales of the beef mince were up 80% since bringing the product into the “remarksable value” line.
More than 40 products have been added to the range since 2023, including select farms red cooking onions (£1.10), 500g Greek style yoghurt 0% fat (£1.15) and traditional Scottish oats 1kg (£1.25).
M&S said these were not “entry level” ranges that compromised on quality or portion sizes but the “same high-quality products customers expect from M&S but at a lower price point, enabled by investment in value from the retailer”.
M&S has said it aims to double the size of its food business and would continue to invest in its value lines.
Kara Greatorex, chief commercial officer at M&S Food, said: “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.”
The move by M&S comes amid a flurry of price promises by the major supermarkets as they compete to attract households struggling with rising food inflation amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
Food inflation increased to 3.3%, up from November’s 3% and far outstripping wider shop price inflation of 0.7%, according to latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NIQ data.
Latest market share figures from Worldpanel show Lidl made the greatest gain among the supermarkets over the 12 weeks to December 28, adding 0.5 percentage points to claim 7.8% of the market and seeing sales growth of 10%.
In comparison, grocery sales at M&S were 7.2% higher over the 12 weeks compared with the same period a year earlier.
