How M&S trumped Waitrose as the middle-class favourite – and the products to buy

As rivalry between the two upmarket grocers hots up, experts reveal what’s in their baskets

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Marks & Spencer has finally done it. After years as a supermarket also-ran, this month it has overtaken Waitrose – traditionally one of the “big five” alongside Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. Marks & Sparks has bagged over 4 per cent of UK grocery sales, pipping Waitrose for the first time outside the Christmas period.
Those of us who’ve been drifting Marks-wards for the last year or more won’t be surprised. While the quality has always been top-notch, recently the retailer has got tough with its pricing meaning that, while it can’t compete with the discounters, Waitrose defectors will no longer wince when they get to the M&S check-out. In particular, prices for staples like pasta are very competitive, so it’s become more feasible for a big shop.
As for the shops themselves, last year M&S announced close to half a billion pounds’ worth of investment, including 20 new stores. There are plans for an online facility for checking stock in store (I can’t wait) and the spending is already showing in store, including at older branches like Bristol’s Cribbs Causeway which is looking elegant and notably better lit, with lots of black (a “luxury” colour) as well as well trained staff – altogether more fitting of the “food hall” moniker, preferred by M&S to “supermarket”.
Waitrose stores look tired by comparison, although new makeovers such as that of the Finchley Road branch, very much in the M&S mould, suggest that it is well aware of the competition. Next year, expect the rivalry to heat up – which should mean even better deals for us shoppers.
M&S invented the supermarket chilled ready meal with its Chicken Kiev, and they’re still the best in the business. Its Gastropub range in collaboration with Tom Kerridge includes slow-cooked dishes which take well to chilling and reheating, like braised beef cheeks. M&S has also pioneered healthier versions which emphasise good nutrition and plenty of protein, rather than simply low calories and low fat – look for the Balanced for You range. The retailer is also known for free-from dishes, with its Made Without Wheat range getting rave reviews from gluten-intolerant friends, who reckon Waitrose pales in comparison.
Marks was first to launch packaged sandwiches back in 1980 and, apart from a brief blip with banana sandwiches (withdrawn before the shops even opened, as they had all turned brown) it’s barely put a foot wrong. Its salads are reliable al desko lunch staples too.
Don’t walk past the M&S freezer cabinets – there’s plenty worth picking up, including the Collection pistachio ice cream which aced a recent taste test. There’s great frozen fish, too – I spotted whole British Dover sole in store this week – and the frozen bone broth cubes are as good as homemade stock, at just £5 for enough to make two litres.
We could wish that M&S stuck more closely to local produce – it’s not uncommon to scan the shelves in one of its Simply franchises and find only imported apples, at the height of our own season. But the larger Food Halls do much better and, on a recent visit, nine out of 12 apples were British, including varieties like Scarlett Paradise and Egremont Russet. Its British tomatoes are worth splashing out on (M&S was the first to sell tomatoes as “grown for flavour”) especially the on-the-vine Piccolo, which work for roasting as well as snacking.
Marks’ “in-store bakery” sells popular treats including cheese pretzels, sourdough baguettes and caramel pecan sticky buns. Don’t imagine that they are made from scratch in store: like other supermarkets, the bakeries simply reheat and brown goods (made in much larger facilities) in ovens the Real Bread Campaign has nicknamed “tanning salons”.
Sadly, the M&S trial of refilling stations for its household products hasn’t been rolled out, but it’s worth stocking up on its pre-packaged cleaning range. It has the looks to match middle-class the favourite Method, but at half the price or less. They smell great too.
Colin the Caterpillar is the birthday cake of a whole generation that’s spawned a raft of copycats. But M&S do other showstopper cakes too: the six-layer rainbow sponge extravaganza might cost £35, but it’d be twice that in a fancy cake shop. Just be careful how you transport it: these beauties are too fragile to stick in the boot.
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5/5