M&S extends in-store bakery and café ranges

M&S has introduced three new handcrafted rolls to its in-store bakery range, along with a football-inspired food-to-go bun and new sweet and savoury bakery options at its cafés.

Kathryn Turner, director of product development at M&S Food, noted the retailer used traditional bakers’ techniques to develop rich flavour and perfect texture for its trio of new rolls including seeded, olive, and cheese varieties.

“Each roll is made over 16 hours, hand moulded and decorated in a traditional way,” she commented on a LinkedIn post.

The Seeded Roll is packed with soft grains and topped with a six-seed blend, the Olive Roll (with tapered ends) is bursting with Kalamata and Halkidiki olives, while the Cheese Roll features West Country Mature Cheddar topped with Red Leicester Cheese, added Turner.

Prices for the rolls were not disclosed, with Turner saying they had landed at stores on 19 June.

Bootiful bun

A week prior, M&S kicked off a limited edition run of a new chicken and slaw bun – dubbed the ‘Perfect Match’ – at its Foodhall outlets. Made in partnership with the English Football Association (the FA), the football-shaped bun filled with British roast chicken, spinach, mayo, and pickled cabbage and carrot.

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Perfect Match Chicken & Slaw Bun

Source: M&S

Pack shot of Perfect Match Chicken & Slaw Bun

Source: M&S

“We’re renowned for our food on the move range, in fact we were the first to bring a pre-packaged sarnie to the high street,” commented Owen Lilley, product development manager at M&S Food. “So, when we looked at what we could do to partner with the England Football teams and show our support this summer a football roll was first in the line-up.

“Our partnership with The FA is all about inspiring families and children to eat more healthily through the power of football and with the Perfect Match being just 313 calories and packed with protein and fibre it really hits the back of the net,” Lilley added.

Prices may vary in selected stores, said the retailer, noting that the bun added to its Eat Well sandwich offering at its foodhalls nationwide.  

Other baked goods partnering England’s campaign at the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament this summer include the England Shirt Shaped Cake by Finsbury Food Group and the ‘It’s Coming Home’ doughnut box by Project D.

Café collection

Four new cakes are among the bakery items rolled out as part of the summer 2024 menu at M&S Cafés.

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Toffee Cake (top right) and Banana Bread (bottom right) with M&S Cafe’s Carrot Cake and Vegan Cherry & Almond Cake

Source: M&S

Big Plate Grazing Platter and Veggie Grazing Platter

Source: M&S

These include the return of the classic Banana Bread (rsp: £4.25), which is served lightly toasted or not with a side of organic Canadian maple syrup and butter.

The Toffee Cake (rsp: £3.50) is said to comprise all the flavours of one of the nation’s favourite desserts – sticky toffee pudding – and is hand-finished with toffee sauce and pecans.

The Passionfruit Loaf Cake (rsp: £3.50) features indulgent vanilla buttercream and zingy passionfruit curd, hand decorated with white chocolate curls, while the Apple & Blackcurrant Crumble Cake (rsp: £3.50) consists of a Bramley apple sponge, filled with buttercream and a layer of juicy blackcurrant jam, finished with a sweet crumble top.

A newcomer on the kids’ menu is the Tuna Mayo Wrap (rsp: £2.50) made with responsibly sourced tuna mayo and sweetcorn in a pinwheel wrap.

Lastly, Greek-style flatbreads form part of the Big Plate Grazing Platter (rsp: £8.95) along with cured meats, cheese, stuffed olives, semi-dried tomatoes, humous, and rocket. There is also a Veggie Grazing Platter that comes without the meats.

New bakery items have also been launched in summer ranges by retailers including Tesco, Co-op, and Waitrose.