Are you a buyer for the M&S Bakery? Talk me through your thinking …

[Starmadrama]

… in relation to hot cross buns. I’ve been in my local M&S today and the shelves were heaving with lots of flavours of hot cross buns - red velvet, chocolate, lemon etc - but the section for fruit ones was empty. Clearly there is very little demand for these bastardised hot cross buns!

I finally found a single pack of fruit buns abandoned by the till. I did think about getting the fruit buns earlier in the week but the expiry date was before Easter 🙄

Did any market research inform this expansion of the Hot Cross Bun offer I wonder?

I've tried all of them. The ? Coop Bakewell ones were ok.
h liked the choc ones

I used to work in a supermarket and we were always baffled by the fact that they would NEVER order enough of some things and we'd sell out almost immediately. People would then spend the rest of the day coming in and asking why we didn't have Xx on the shelves and all we could say was 'come in earlier'.

Why the shops couldn't work out that they were going to sell out always baffled me.

Is it because someone has bought them all 😙

I went to Tesco for mine. No finest fruit ones so I bought bog standard normal ones and have just had it toasted with some very strong mature cheddar.

I was talking to a friend (on the phone) while assembling this snack and she thought it was odd. I always eat hot cross buns and fruit cake with mature cheddar...

(I'm not from Yorkshire)

They do apple and brown suger gluten free ones they are so so nice but we have run out and I dont think they are restocking 😭

Same thing happened to us!!

SO much sugary crap everywhere and it’s all absolute shite. M&S deserve to lose money and get left with a mountain of unsold, ill-advised buns! Silly bastards!

I don't understand messing with perfection. Leave them as they are!

I really like wholemeal HCBs. A few years ago they were easy to find - Sainsburys, Waitrose and M&S all did them - but now they don't seem to exist anywhere and instead there are all these mad, sickly flavours. Who's buying them?!

The original M&S ones are the best. Tried various favours two years but not being fooled again.

I did not know that was a Christmas one, I just thought it was permanently sold out when I visit M&S (not that often)!

I guess I'll have to wait til September now to get them again.

I used to work for the company which makes the hot cross buns for M&S. There is so much pressure now for new product development and innovation - consumers want “experiential eating” rather than the bog standard tried and tested product, and that is a big driver towards trends for these weird and whacky flavours.

I had the M&S lemon ones last week. I love lemon flavours and was looking forward to trying them . They were a bit disappointing. Just tasted like a small blob of mediocre lemon curd in the middle of them. I wouldn’t buy again.

I bought the lemon ones because of a sparks voucher- absolutely disgusting. Two bites and the whole pack went in the bin.

I was moaning about this the other day without realising I had accidentally bought the millionaires shortbread ones and they are delicious so I bought a second lot!! So I may be a convert!

Co-op has had proper hot x buns. Not as good as the ones from the home made baker's of my youth, but the proper fruity, spicy sort. I bought an extra pack for the freezer.

And I'm another who'll have a bun, buttered, with a chunk of cheddar. That'll be lunch.

I am a full on sugar monster

I looked at these and I just thought "ew". I don't get it at all. I'm not particularly a fan of hot Cross buns. I just thought all of these looked really wrong. And I love red velvet. But just... no.

I bought some because of a Sparks offer - took one bite and chucked the rest. Serves me right really - I know that commercial HCBs are all tasteless pap now. Rather have one decent bakery one than a pack of supermarket ones.

The Asda white chocolate and lemon ones are amazing I've done a lot of taste testing. The Aldi rhubarb and custard are nice as well.

I’m still annoyed they stopped doing the cheese and marmite HCB in M&S they were delicious

We get standard, apple and cheese. All nice. The rest are gopping (I assume). Apart from tiramisu which I can confirm is actively awful.

Chocolate ones are ok - but there are so many better ways to eat chocolate.

Yes too, Co op.

May I offer some hot cross bun metrics?

Stickiness-just fine. You don't need to go wash your fingertips just because youve removed one from the pack.
Fruit ratio-generous
Cut-ability-you can cut them through the middle without them compacting into dough
Toast-ability a nice even toast rather than burnt crags due to poor cut-ability (see above).
Taste-yep. Spot on.
Mouth feel-mmmmm. Full 5 ms.
Price-definitely worth strolling up the road for.
Credibility-100%. They are sold as hot cross buns and they are hot cross buns.

Butter if you possibly, not marg.

But you knew that.

can

Criminal that the minty choc ones aren't available all year round! Although in honesty...my waistline might regret that...