By Kathryn Turner, Director of Product Development, M&S Food

‘Tis the season for mince pies and at M&S Food, we take that seriously.

Every Christmas, our Classic Mince Pie is a festive hit with our customers. But for us, being good isn’t enough. We believe even the best can always be better.

That’s why we benchmark our products against the market to make sure they’re the very best quality. And 83% of the time, they come out on top. If they don’t, we give them a quality upgrade, because when you buy from M&S, you can trust it’s the best.

So how do we do it?

As we start preparing for Christmas (a year in advance), our product developers are hard at work benchmarking our mince pies against the market.

Picture this: a room of tasters, silent and focused, scoring each pie against a strict 10-point scale for appearance, texture, flavour, and aroma. No branding, no bias - just pure quality assessment.

What we found

After tasting the market, the verdict was clear: many mince pies out there are underwhelming. Common issues? Claggy pastry with little butter in the recipe, mincemeat bulked out with apple purée instead of premium vine fruits, some not even with the legal definition of a mincemeat, and poor visuals - sunken lids, boil-out, and uneven crimping.

In contrast, our Classic Mince Pie stood out. Here’s why:

• Pastry: Buttery aroma and flavour that comes through with every bite. Crisp, short texture - never heavy in the mouth. Our pastry made with 100% butter.
• Mincemeat: Packed with plump, glossy vine fruits, including our signature Vostizza currants – the best in the world. A balanced blend of Christmassy spices with rich brown sugar notes for depth and warmth.
• Appearance: A proud pie with a beautiful golden finish, neat crimping, and our iconic holly leaf design. No boil-out and no grease spotting.

When the scores were revealed, our pie came out on top, beating the competition by a significant margin.

How we keep improving

Even as the market leader, we never stop striving for better. For 2026, we’re exploring subtle tweaks to reduce sweetness, allowing the spices and fruit to shine even more. We’ll also monitor customer feedback throughout the season to ensure our mince pies remain the nation’s favourite.

Our approach to quality

This commitment isn’t just for mince pies - it’s how we develop every product. Each year, we conduct over 10,000 blind tastings, leading to around 1,000 quality upgrades across our range. Every decision is based on evidence, not assumption.

We focus on three pillars:

• Recipe: Designed to reflect how you’d cook at home.
• Ingredients: Forensically sourced, because good ingredients make a good product.
• Process: Working with suppliers to replicate home-style cooking at scale.

And unlike many competitors, we don’t just source products - we create them. That’s what makes M&S unique on the high street.

The result

83% of our products rank first in blind benchmarks. But as our CEO, Stuart Machin says, we remain “positively dissatisfied” - always looking for ways to make great food even better.

So, when you bite into an M&S Classic Mince Pie this Christmas, know that behind that golden pastry and rich, spiced filling is a team obsessed with quality, and already planning how to make next year’s even better.