Health and Wellbeing

Our health and wellbeing outcome is influenced by our surrounding environment and choices. As a population we need to rebalance the way we eat, to include healthier foods so that we can achieve a healthy, sustainable, and balanced diet. Not only is obesity a challenge but the effects that come with it, including increased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. At M&S we recognise we have a role to play as part of a multi-stakeholder approach to address the UK dietary imbalance.

Inspiring our customers to make healthier choices

M&S has been recognised as the leading retailer for offering healthy choices*. We’re committed to promoting healthy lifestyles and wellbeing, by developing innovative product ranges, providing trusted information, and encouraging our customers and colleagues to live healthier lives.

In April 2023 we set an ambitious new target to continue growing sales of healthier foods to 70% of sales tonnage by the end of 2024/25. We’ve already made strong progress against this target, achieving 69% by April 2024.  

Our definition of healthier products includes the following food choices: 

  • Products with the Eat Well seal of approval, highlighting a healthy choice, with criteria based on the Governments Eat Well Guide and endorsed by the British Nutrition Foundation. 

  • Selected products that are not classified as high in fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) by the Nutrient Profile Model and meet government 2024 salt and calorie reformulation targets. 

  • Selected products with 30% reduced fat, sugar, or salt content in comparison with standard products, and meet government 2024 salt and calorie reformulation targets. 

  • Selected products that have been perfectly portioned to provide options of some of our most loved products with a responsible calorie content and meet government 2024 salt and calorie reformulation targets. 

To achieve this target and continue to grow healthier sales, we will increase the number of healthier choices through new product development and reformulation, and nudge customers to make healthy choices through increased marketing share of voice and trading opportunities. 

We have dedicated technical, product development and nutrition teams in place, focused on supporting our customers to make healthier choices.  We make healthy eating easier through clear on-pack labelling, using the full five colour coded nutrients on front of pack wherever possible, provision of accessible customer information, and further through our Ask the Nutritionist service. To ensure we’re as helpful as possible for our customers, we’re also very careful with which products we allow nutrition and health claims on. For example, health claims are only permitted on our Eat Well products. 

*Of the 33,637 who have participated in a YouGov UK BrandIndex survey between April 2023 and March 2024 and are aware of M&S, 36% associate M&S with offering healthy options. This is highest amongst the brands listed in the question, which include Marks & Spencer, Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, The co-operative, Iceland and Ocado. 

Increasing healthier choices for customers

Quality and taste will never be compromised at M&S, and we will continue to inspire our customers with delicious food for every occasion. We are dedicated to supporting customers in making healthy choices, and we continuously review opportunities to reformulate products and improve the nutrient profile of our foods.  

All products are reviewed against the FSA 2004-2005 nutrient profiling model to support driving direction on reformulation, whilst still maintaining our high-quality standards. In 2022 we increased the number of healthier choices through new product development and reformulation – including 222 new Eat Well products and 129 new or reformulated non HFSS (High Fat Salt Sugar) products.  

Across the Food Hall, where possible, our reformulation programme aims to reduce the levels of unnecessary saturated fat, sugar, and salt in line with government targets, as well as other ingredients such as additives. In the last year we have reduced the levels of fat, salt and sugar from key categories including pizza, coated fish, soup, cakes, and confectionery. As a result, 77% of products in scope meet the Government’s 2024 maximum salt targets, and 86% of products in-scope meet the 2024 maximum calorie targets.  

Where reformulation is a challenge due to quality, safety, or product integrity, we will strive to ensure a healthier option is available alongside the existing option. This work is done in combination with our innovative product development team who create recipes and ingredients that help to inspire customers to eat healthy. We believe that healthy foods should be enjoyed and not a compromise. 

Creating the magic

We are famous for being at the forefront of innovation, to always ensure a healthy choice is a delicious choice too. Our specialist product, technical and nutrition teams strive to source the best quality ingredients to meet new and existing health demands of our customers.

When it comes to the development of our products, we are considered in the use of ingredients. We aim to develop our foods using processes as close to the kitchen as possible, and with no unnecessary ingredients, whilst still ensuring food is safe and the high quality our customers expect. We continuously review our ingredients and processes, and as a result, there are certain ingredients which we do not permit in M&S foods including artificial colours and flavours, monosodium glutamate (MSG), hydrogenated fats, aspartame and titanium dioxide. We are also committed to providing foods which do not do not contain genetically modified (GM) ingredients or derivatives, and do not permit the sale of gene edited foods.

Providing healthy choices also means meeting specific dietary needs without compromise, and across the Food Hall we strive to cater for customers with such needs.  In January 2024 we added two exciting new brands to our portfolio supporting our customers dietary preferences, Good Gut and High Protein. Each range has strict nutritional criteria.

Our Good Gut range provide delicious healthy choices that support your gut health, including live yoghurts and breakfast on the go.  

Our new High Protein range offers options for all occasions including snacking, salads and freshly prepared meals, that are packed with protein, veg and clever carbs.  

Our Made Without range provides products free from gluten, wheat, or dairy, developed in a controlled environment so you can trust they’re safe to enjoy.  

Our Taste Buds range is specially created for children aged 4-10 with a selection of healthy, convenient, and yummy food. The Taste Buds nutrition criteria has been specially developed by our nutritionists in consultation with the British Nutrition Foundation.

Our Count on Us range caters for those looking for calorie-controlled options, with each flavour-packed meal under 375 calories and each dessert under 180 calories.

To answer the growing demand from customers for more plant-based products, we developed our Plant Kitchen range, as well as offering vegetarian and vegan choices throughout cuisines in the food hall. Whether you’re going vegan, reducing meat and dairy, or simply enjoy incorporating more plant-based foods into your diet, these ranges offer vegan and vegetarian choices that never compromise on taste.

As well as catering to the demands of specific dietary needs, we are focused on identifying and translating nutrition science and health trends to deliver exciting propositions to customers, including products launched to support customers gut and immune health.

We've also introduced initiatives to add nutrients that are in short supply into our foods to help boost customers’ intakes. Such as all our pre-packaged bread (including sandwiches) which is a source of vitamin D and fibre.

To encourage and inspire our customers achieve their 5 a day, we work with our innovative suppliers to create new and exciting varieties of fruit and vegetables, such as our Purple Sweet Potatoes, King Blueberries, Golden Kiwis, Orange Candy Melons. 

Eat Well

Eat Well makes it easier to be healthy. That’s because every Eat Well product has a health benefit and supports a balanced diet. Look out for the Eat Well flower on 1000s of M&S products.

At M&S we want to make eating healthily as simple as possible for customers. That’s why in 2005 we launched the Eat Well flower seal of approval as a signpost for healthy food choices. Eat Well makes it easier for customers to make healthy and delicious choices, simply look for the Eat Well flower across thousands of products. 

An M&S product only gets the Eat Well seal of approval if it fulfils evidence-based, nutritional criteria reviewed by our expert nutritionists, in line with healthy-eating guidelines. Our Eat Well criteria has been updated to ensure all our Eat Well products are unrestricted by HFSS legislation.

Our Eat Well seal of approval shows customers that a product is not only healthy but delicious too, as we don’t think making a healthy choice means you should have to compromise on taste.

We’re promoting Eat Well through multiple marketing channels including, our partnership with the home nation football teams, increased marketing in store and our What’s Fresh magazine. 

Value

To help customers make healthy and affordable choices, we have committed to ensuring at least a third of our Remarksable trusted value range has the Eat Well seal of approval. However, since September 2022, over 50% of Remarksable products have consistently had the Eat Well health seal of approval.  

Our Remarksable products offer low prices on everyday items with the highest quality and standards you’d expect from us. 

As part of our investment in price, we also dropped or locked the price of a further 80 Eat Well products to help customers feel confident in choosing a balanced diet, from  Lean 5% mince beef (cut by 15% to £4.25), to Broccoli Crowns (325g – cut by 17% to £1.25) and Wholemeal Bloomer bread (cut by 11% to £2).  

And, through our Fresh Market Specials, we offer customers amazing value on fruit and vegetables exclusively sourced from trusted M&S Select Farms.  

Over the past four years we have significantly reduced the number of multibuy promotions in our stores, focusing instead on everyday Trusted Value across our food business. We no longer run multibuy offers on products high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS) despite the Government restriction on this type of offer not starting until October 2025.  

In January 2021, we gave extra support to families by funding an additional £5 per week for each £15 lunch voucher redeemed via the government's free school meals scheme in England. Bringing the total value to £20 made sure that children received an extra daily meal and were able to eat both a healthy and nutritious breakfast and a lunchtime meal. This announcement was supported by Marcus Rashford MBE.

As part of this, our Senior Nutritionists developed the M&S online lunch planner which included mealtime inspiration for 10 meals for two children, along with hints and tips on how to avoid food waste.

 

Partners

Through our marketing and partnerships, we help customers understand more about healthy eating and our Eat Well products, as well as make it easier for them to navigate healthier choices in store.

To help kickstart a healthy 2024 we have partnered with ZOE, the personalised nutrition company to develop our exclusive “Gut Shot”. We’ve bottled up over 30 years of ZOEs scientific research with trusted M&S quality, to create a delicious kefir drink with over 5 billion live cultures from 14 different strains of bacteria. It’s packed with fibre and a source of calcium, which supports the normal functioning of digestive enzymes.  

In 2022 we launched our exciting partnership with the England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland national football teams to use the power of football to help families make healthier choices.

This is a partnership for change. With a little help from some much-loved footballing heroes, we want to inspire you and your family to make healthy eating delicious, easy, and fun and to help make the next generation of families healthier.

This campaign has already been successful in raising the awareness of the Eat Well seal of approval, something we know is important from our customers in making healthy choices as highlighted in our Plate of the Nation report which launched in August 2023. The report dives into the UKs relationship with food and health, and the activity we are planning to help families make healthier and more affordable choices. Including opening stores with over 50% Eat Well products in areas where healthy choices are not easily accessible, communicating support schemes such as the governments Healthy Start Vouchers to our customers, and staying ahead of the game with our quality and number of healthy choices available.

To develop our approach to public health, we’ve worked with many partners, including the British Nutrition Foundation, Department of Health, Public Health England, Food Standards Scotland and Scottish Government as well as campaign groups such as CASH (Consensus Action on Salt and Health), and Which?

Operationally, Campden BRI are helping us ensure the safety and integrity of our products. We’re also working with a number of organisations (Food Standards Agency, Drinkaware Trust, Alcohol Concern, Diabetes UK) to promote healthier and active lifestyles.

We believe there is a need to improve the collation and understanding of evidence on public health in order to ensure that policy changes can be accurately measured and refocused if necessary. We’re working closely with the Government, the IGD, BRC, and BBSRC on various public health related initiatives including research, public policy advocacy and thought leadership to ensure that ongoing nutrition science research is relevant to industry and public health initiatives.

Responsible retailing

M&S does not sell tobacco products. Alcohol is a single-digit percentage of our sales and we’re committed to selling alcohol responsibly. We provide unit and calorie information on our alcohol labels, have developed a range of lower-alcohol and non-alcoholic drinks and cocktails, and actively support Drinkaware, an independent charity which aims to reduce alcohol-related harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. We are committed to restricting the sale of energy drinks to under 16s in our stores. 

Discover more about how we approach marketing our products responsibly here.