From our early market stalls to the superstar products that we know and love, this exhibition is all about M&S food.
We first sold foods on our Penny Bazaar market stalls in the 1880s. This included biscuits, sweets, flour and custard powder packaged and sold for one penny.
We also sold utensils and other kitchen equipment for customers to make and serve their own food.
As the business grew, the Penny Bazaars moved from market halls into high street stores which were expanded and modernized in the 1920s and 1930s.
From 1927 ice cream counters were introduced in some stores, and two years later we started to sell ready-made sandwiches from the same counters.
The success of sandwiches led to the opening of Café Bars in stores in the 1930s. Customers could enjoy their favourite sandwiches alongside classic dishes like fish and chips, cottage pie and trifle.
Café Bars became increasingly popular during the Second World War as they used floor space left empty by wartime stock shortages, and customers were able to buy food without using ration coupons.
Following the war, Café Bars (and with them, fresh sandwiches) gradually disappeared, with the last one closed by the end of the 1950s. Sandwiches weren’t sold again until 1980.
In 1931 dedicated food departments opened in all stores, selling canned goods, fruit, vegetables and cakes.
We didn’t yet sell foods under the St Michael label and we stocked non-M&S brands, for example Cadbury’s drinking chocolate.
We showcased our food ranges with complex and decorative displays rather than printed advertising. We weren’t alone in this, many of our competitors had a similar food offer at the time.
We introduced ‘provisions’ to selected stores in 1934, this included cooked meats, sausages, pies, cheese and bacon.
Three years later we opened our own distribution centre for fruit at Covent Garden in London, enabling us to work directly with producers and suppliers. This gave us greater control over quality, and meant we could provide the best produce at an affordable price.
After the war M&S became actively involved in food technology.
In 1948 we appointed a Technical Executive and Chief Chemist to the Food Division, Nathan Goldenberg, whose Food Technology department improved quality control and hygiene standards.
In the early 1950s, food halls were being reduced to make space for clothing due to the boom in new synthetic fabrics. While M&S was focusing on textiles, the first thing Nathan did was set priorities for M&S food.
This included a review of all food merchandise, raw materials and methods of production, quality inspections and liaising with research bodies about developments in food technology.
Nathan added an improved laboratory and a new bakery laboratory to the existing facilities, sending a clear message within M&S that food science was crucial to success.
Nathan received direction from M&S Chairman Simon Marks to focus on cake.
Simon wanted a range of own brand cakes. If Nathan could make a success of cake then his technical approach would be applied across all food departments.
In 1952 our first own-brand cake line, Swiss Roll, was sold under the Welbeck label, an M&S brand named after the telephone exchange at Head Office. The cake was developed by technologists under Nathan’s leadership. Sales improved noticeably.
The same approach to other cakes followed, with technical specifications created for each product. These are very precise instructions down to the quarter inch!
We began to share this behind-the-scenes technology with customers to show them why our cakes were superior.
Research began into how to improve freshness, determining the shelf-life for different products based on their recipe.
There was a general view at the time that shop-bought cakes were inferior to homemade, but Nathan and his cake technicians sought to overturn this.
By 1954 our cakes had the ultimate endorsement. One customer, Mrs Kenway, said ‘My family have always turned their noses up at shop bought cakes but now they ask for their M&S treat every teatime’.
In October 1957 our biggest promotion for biscuits began, explaining how food science was improving quality.
Biscuits were an important product, in 1957 we were selling 100 million a month! Our extensive range at the time had something for everyone, including Rich Tea Fingers, Butter Puffs, Milk Chocolate Tea Cakes, Coconut Macaroons, Custard Creams, Cheese Savouries and Telebars.
‘We called them, correctly, Avocado Pears, and put them out for sale without any instructions.’
‘We soon knew better! A lady … complained about their poor quality … she had peeled them, removed the stone, stewed them and served them as a dessert with custard!’ Nathan Goldenberg, Thought for Food: Study of the Development of the Food Division, 1989.
We dropped ‘pears’ from the name and produced a leaflet explaining how avocados should be prepared.
Avocados acquired almost cult status in the late 2010s. In 2017 we launched a stoneless avocado with an edible skin, and in 2020 our first giant avocados went on sale, twice the size of an average avocado.
At the end of the 1950s our focus turned to chicken.
Most retailers sold poultry frozen because of the risks of bacteria causing food poisoning, but we knew customers would rather buy unfrozen, fresh chicken.
To keep meat fresh, the cold-chain process was developed by M&S and our suppliers. This involved refrigerated storage, trucks and in-store chiller cabinets. The process was unique at the time and a huge success, increasing sales and shelf-life, and extending selling space.
We were aware of the importance of promoting food hygiene to customers. So in 1972 the Food Technology department introduced sell-by dates, an innovation adopted by other retailers and which eventually became a legal requirement.
The message ‘the sell-by date means that St Michael foods are fresh’ appeared on our food carrier bags.
