Food Timeline - M&S Archive

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Timelines

Home // Discover // Timelines // Food
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Food

1884
1920s
1927
1931
1934
1935
1937
1941
1948
1948
1950s
1954
1960
1960
1965
1971
1972
1973
1973
1979
1980
1985
1985
1987
1992
2000
2000
2002
2004
2008
2010
2012
2014
2016
2017
2017
2017
2018
2019
2019
2020
2020
2020
2021
Cardiff market stall, c1900
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1884

Our Penny Bazaars sold some basic food items, such as flour, spices and confectionery.

Staff Bulletin, 1927
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1920s

In the 1920s our Confectionery Departments sold a wide variety of items from pear drops to brandy snaps.

Ice Cream Bar, 1930s
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1927

Ice cream counters were introduced in 1927, two years later we began selling freshly made sandwiches from the same counters.

Watford food section, 1939
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1931

M&S food departments opened in all stores, selling canned goods, fruit, vegetables and cakes.

Blackpool provisions section, 1938
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1934

Provisions including cooked meats, sausages, pies, cheese and bacon were introduced to selected stores.

Edmonton Café Bar, 1930s
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1935

Café Bars opened in a selection of stores.  Customers could order hot meals including chops, steaks or fish and chips.

Window display of fruit, 1930s
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1937

We established our own fruit distribution centre in London’s Covent Garden – a move to work directly with producers and suppliers that continues today.

Café Bar, 1940s
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1941

Food rationing was introduced. Café Bar and restaurant meals were not rationed, though some foods were in short supply. Our Café Bars were very popular with customers as meals could be purchased without having to use up ration coupons.

Battenberg specification, 1950s
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1948

After the war we appointed Nathan Goldenberg as our first Technical Executive and Chief Chemist. His Food Technology department went on to improve quality control, hygiene and safety standards across M&S food departments.

Wood Green store, 1948
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1948

1948 Self-service food shopping was introduced. It completely revolutionised food retail spaces, with customers selecting their own food from open shelving.

Wood Green store made history as it was used for the first trials of self-service at M&S.

Gateaux packaging, 1960s
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1950s

Our Cake department worked closely with suppliers to produce high quality, fast-selling cakes which could be produced in volume. Swiss Rolls and Gateaux were amongst the first cakes produced for M&S in this way.

Following the de-rationing of sugar in 1953, our range of cakes and biscuits expanded rapidly.

Telebar biscuits, 1955
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1954

The first use of St Michael on foods was likely to have been on a packet of Almond Crisp biscuits.

We sold a wide range of biscuits in the late 1950s, including Telebars – a chocolate-covered biscuit bar with a coconut cream layer.

Nursing Times, September 1960
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1960

Nursing Times published a survey on hygiene in M&S stores, with recommendations on how techniques could be transferred to hospitals.

It included praise of the smoking ban, introduced in 1959.

Fresh not Frozen window display, 1970
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1960

Fresh, chilled chicken is sold in stores for the first time in newly installed chilled cabinets – it’s an immediate success with customers.

Armoride House, 1965
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1965

Armoride House opened next to our flagship Marble Arch store as our first separate food hall.

Frozen foods, 1972
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1971

Frozen foods are trialed at Edgware Road store, then extended to 100 stores by 1973.

Products ranged from basics like peas and fish, to meals such as lasagne.

Sell By dates, 1972
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1972

The Food Technology department introduced ‘sell-by’ dates to wrappers, an innovation adopted by other retailers and which would later become a legal requirement.

Boil in the Bag ravioli, 1973
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1973

Foil-wrapped, boil-in-the bag, convenience foods were trialed in 1973, with more boil-in-the-bag products on offer by 1974.

Pilau rice packaging, 1984
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1973

Package holidays were becoming more popular, so M&S food ranges begin to reflect the public’s interest in new cuisine, such as a new range of frozen Indian dishes that included chicken korma and pork vindaloo.

Chicken Kiev packaging, 1990
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1979

Our ready-prepared chicken Kiev was launched. It was so successful we set up a new factory dedicated to producing the product.

Sandwiches, 1982
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1980

Pre-packed sandwiches were re-launched – the most popular filling was prawn and mayonnaise, which debuted in 1981.

Vegetable moussaka, 1985
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1985

A new range of vegetarian main meals, including lasagne and moussaka were introduced.

Calorie Counted Menu, 1985
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1985

We launched the Calorie Counted Menu range with all seven meals containing less than 300 calories each.

Pinner store, 1987
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1987

We opened our first food-only store at Pinner in London. Customers were offered late night shopping every night, and a 200-space car park next to the store.

Percy Pig packaging, 2010s
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1992

Percy Pigs arrived!

By 2014 over one billion Percy Pigs had been sold.

Count On Us range, 2000s
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2000

The Count On Us range was launched, with meals containing less than 3% fat and reduced calories.

Organic granola, 2007
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2000

The growth of the organic market in the UK led to a relaunch of the M&S organic range. It had been withdrawn in 1993 due to lack of demand.

By 2000 we sold 150 organic products in 150 stores.

Free Range egg advert, 2005
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2002

By 2002 all eggs used in our food range came from free range hens.

Chocolate Melt in the Middle pudding advertising, 2004
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2004

Our first ‘This is not just food, this is M&S food’ television advert was aired.

One of the most iconic adverts from this campaign featured the Chocolate Melt in the Middle pudding. When aired, sales of the product increased 3000%.

Dine in for Two, 2008
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2008

The popular Dine In For Two for £10 promotion was launched.

Fuller Longer packaging, 2010s
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2010

The Fuller Longer range was developed with expert advice from scientists at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen, renowned for its ground-breaking research on effective weight-loss.

Simply M&S packaging, 2010s
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2012

We launched Simply M&S, a range of everyday food products and must-have kitchen ingredients that offered M&S quality at great value prices.

Jaffa Spheres, 2014
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2014

Our Adventures in Food campaign launched, showcasing products such as our Chocolate Jaffa Spheres.

Vitamin D bread, 2016
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2016

We introduced a special yeast containing Vitamin D which improves bone health to all our bread.

Two slices of M&S bread now includes 15% of the recommended daily amount for Vitamin D.

We also applied this to all our Food on the Move sandwiches.

Laser label avocados, 2017
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2017

As a first in the UK we trialed laser labels for avocados which marked the very outer layer of skin without damaging the fruit inside, saving the use of paper and glue.

Adventures in Wonderfood branding, 2017
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2017

This year saw the launch of Adventures in Wonderfood, a new range of healthy, balanced meals, snacks and ingredients created with everyday nutrition in mind.

British Airways partnership, 2017
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2017

We partnered with British Airways to supply hot and cold food on short-haul flights, bringing together two iconic British brands.

Gluten-free pastries, 2018
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2018

We became the first UK retailer to have an own-brand range of gluten-free pastries.

The Made Without selection includes croissants, chocolate twists and apricot pastries, all made with creamy French butter.

Plant Kitchen branding, 2019
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2019

We launched food ranges suitable for customers with specific food preferences.

New lines included Plant Kitchen designed for vegans, Halal ready meals and Kosher ranges.

Food renewal store, 2019
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2019

We opened the first Food Renewal store at Hempstead Valley in July.

New displays for fresh produce, larger bakery, frozen and ambient sections, all encourage families to do a complete shop with us.

Ocado delivery, 2020
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2020

Our joint venture with Ocado launched.

This included a new Food to Order offer, allowing the full availability of our food ranges to be delivered straight to your door.

Deliveroo partnership, 2020
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2020

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic we set up a brand new partnership with Deliveroo in March.

The range included around 60 products available to be delivered to local customers within 30 minutes.

Food box contents, 2020
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2020

We made Food Boxes available to order using capacity within our Clothing & Home distribution network to support our customers through the Covid-19 pandemic.

Box options included Mixed Vegetable and Seasonal Fruit.

Scan and Shop station, 2021
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2021

We brought all our digital payment solutions under one brand banner – Scan & Shop with Sparks.

This includes hand-held scanners and Mobile Pay Go.

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