Has M&S food quality dropped?

[Thewiseoneincognito]

This is a weird one but I’ve started to notice over the last couple of months the taste and quality of Marks and Spencer’s food items has really lowered a lot. Has any one else?

I’ve had a few of their ready meals recently with huge chunks of chewy beef in that clearly hasn’t been cut properly, sounds ok but it just looks gross and is usually big boobs of fatty gristle. I found a large sharp piece of flint in a mushroom dish, a piece of blue plastic film in one of their soups. Their sandwiches seem to have stale bread despite being well before the end date. Usually I can let the odd thing slide and put it down to once in a blue moon but it seems to be a regular occurrence.

Before anyone says shop elsewhere, it’s my local food hall, the alternative is a tiny Tesco or Sainsbury’s, great if you need snacks or milk but not exactly the type of store to do a food shop.

M&S has always been a better standard of prepared food compared to others but now I’m doubting they’re any different than regular supermarket offerings. The range of foods seems to have been cut too like they’re no longer bothering to innovate, just churning out the same old but with lower quality control.

@Pipsquiggle

Hi I work in food retail head office in commercial strategy - one of my remits is to look across all retailers and see if there are any significant shifts in their strategies. M&S food quality has definitely reduced as they are trying to get more people to shop with them.

Their prices are just too high for most people and with the Ocado partnership they are trying to become more of an everyday option. Reducing their RSPs will be a key part of this - they are probably moving to a 'good enough' quality level rather than best in class.

The other thing to point out is that M&S food historically tasted really good as it had way more fat &/or salt in their recipes. Most other supermarkets have cut down on these nutritional aspects due to health aspirations. They are probably playing catch up on this too

This is so interesting!!! Correct me if I’m wrong but they don’t use many preservatives in their receipts either do they? That’s why some items have a shorter shelf life, if anything it probably doesn’t help them when you walk in to a store midday and there’s a sea of yellow sticker reductions twinkling away.

Can I ask, and try to be neutral if you can- but who has the strongest strategy in terms of balancing quality and price?

Was the M&S change a deliberate decision or reaction to economic impact of covid and Brexit?

I’m fairly sure the m&s prices are cheaper in store than if you buy via Ocado. Not for everything, but some stuff has a significant mark up.

So not sure how that ties in with trying to appeal to more customers by reducing quality and prices? Maybe they think Ocado customers are wealthy enough to not care?

I’ve not noticed it but I’m a vegan and seem to not eat all the products that have taken a quality hit

I do get fruit from M&S which has been ok so far but £££

M&S food quality has definitely reduced as they are trying to get more people to shop with them... they are probably moving to a 'good enough' quality level rather than best in class.
@Potpourriandpennysweets @Thewiseoneincognito

Sounds very similar to their clothes/homeward strategy of the last few decades. And that worked so well for them, because their non-food business is thriving as we all know.

I haven’t been able to buy decent stewing steak for yonks, we used to love a stew now it’s totally off the menu.
Also decent salmon fillets. This is from any supermarket.

@Thewiseoneincognito

hi I have worked in head office retail roles all my career mainly in buying / commercial roles and also strategy. I have worked at M&S, Sainsburys, Ocado, Homebase, Tesco and Waitrose.

Most of my career at Tesco.

I can undoubtedly say that quality standards are best at Waitrose - the amount of time and effort they put in new product development, quality and authenticity is just way more than other retailers.

On top of all the above it is the only retailer I have worked at that genuinely cares about paying a fair price to farmers.

I genuinely believe we don't pay enough for food in the UK, particularly to farmers / producers.

I choose to shop at Waitrose

@Thewiseoneincognito

M&S definitely have a great new product development plan, however, they know most people see them as 'treat' and therefore don't shop with them regularly.

I think they are trying to normalise their range and pricing so people shop with them more frequently - all of this is in line with the Ocado link up. Recipes may have changed as they did contain a lot of fat and salt. Not sure about using less preservatives, if there best by /use by dates are noticeably shorter vs other retailers that's probably true but I haven't seen any data on that

@lalafafa

I haven’t been able to buy decent stewing steak for yonks, we used to love a stew now it’s totally off the menu. Also decent salmon fillets. This is from any supermarket.

If you've got a local farm shop or farmers' market, @lalafafa, give them a try. The price per lb may be a lot more, but I've found I waste so much less because it's better quality that it more or less balances out.

And the food miles are so much less, too.

We use Ocado and miss the Waitrose products. None of the M&S replacements are as good, or the price of these items have been hiked up in recent weeks. Waitrose used to have a basics range at Ocado of which we bought loads because they were very handy for cooking like tinned black olives or basic cooking olive oil. The meat is OK, as long as you are willing to pay for the best cuts. We have a local butcher but the queue outside puts me off, you can wait half an hour sometimes. The Marks sandwiches always seem dry or stale? I like their elderflower cordial, the Perry Pigs, the sausage rolls (Not the premium ones they tend to be grisly and greasy) and my daughter lives the falafel. Overall quality has really gone downhill.

@Thewiseoneincognito

Don't get me going on Brexit. It is an absolute cluster fuck for all retail

No I don't think M&S strategy is due to covid or Brexit - it is all about increasing customer frequency and it using for full shops and not just treat occasions

[quote Pipsquiggle]@Thewiseoneincognito

Don't get me going on Brexit. It is an absolute cluster fuck for all retail

No I don't think M&S strategy is due to covid or Brexit - it is all about increasing customer frequency and it using for full shops and not just treat occasions[/quote]
I agree with you, they're clearly aiming for increased customer frequency and for customers to do full shops, not just treats. However, given the rapid decline in standards, they're going to lose loyal customers in the process and not retain any new ones. It all seems incredibly short-sighted.

For meat we now use a local farm for beef or athleat.co.uk

All grass fed, organic, British, have 'normal' lives out in fields without any cages, etc.

It is more expensive so I just eat meat less often but better quality/sustainable/ethical

@sansucre

You have to remember that M&S currently have less than 5% of the grocery market and the vast majority of people don't care about quality / authenticity; they care about price. They are trying to get new people so are therefore going after the 95% of the current market spend that don't shop with them

Dont buy ready meals as a rule. Unless feeling particularly lazy but over noticed a drop in quality in M&S and sainsbury's as I only ever buy the same old favourites and they do seem waterier than they used to be and with more gristly meat

*The vast majority of people don't care enough about quality...........

Wow, so little a market share, I honestly had no idea. Either way, lower food standards are not going to retain new customers, particularly as the prices are still on the high side.

I do wonder if joining forces with Ocado is the beginning of the end for M&S.

@Halloweenrainbow

There is definately something going on with supermarket fruit and veg. Growing up we could keep root vegetables fresh in the cupboard for weeks. Now I always feel in a rush to use them within 48 hours before they grow fur or turn to slime!

It's because the veg has probably stood in a warehouse somewhere for days or weeks.

Like supermarket eggs - they're usually 3 weeks old by the time you buy them!

@sansucre

It will be deemed successful if they gain more new customers who feel M&S have 'good enough' quality than lose existing customers who are disappointed

[quote Pipsquiggle]@Thewiseoneincognito

M&S definitely have a great new product development plan, however, they know most people see them as 'treat' and therefore don't shop with them regularly.

I think they are trying to normalise their range and pricing so people shop with them more frequently - all of this is in line with the Ocado link up. Recipes may have changed as they did contain a lot of fat and salt. Not sure about using less preservatives, if there best by /use by dates are noticeably shorter vs other retailers that's probably true but I haven't seen any data on that[/quote]
Thank you for taking the time to thoroughly explain all of that information. It makes absolute sense with consumers viewing Marks as a treat. I wish I had a Waitrose nearby, the nearest one is a good 20 minute drive.

My concern though isn’t necessarily the recipe changing to include lower fat and salt, it’s the overall quality of the actual product, with standards issues. Great if they’re making a more widely affordable item just make sure it’s made well consistently and without issues.

@Thewiseoneincognito

It's important to recognise that 'quality' is multi-faceted and subjective - means different things to different people.

The main aspects of quality in food (although this is not an exhaustive list) are:
Product Delivery / Packaging
Authenticity
Visual Appeal
Range
Health
Corporate and Social Responsibility
Trusted Suppliers
Grade of product

If supermarkets are upping or downgrading quality of a product they usually start with the above list and they usually aim for a price point as that has the most impact on customers buying it or not

Pipsquiggle that was a very useful explanation, thank you.

Yes with meat! Chicken goujons are now vile (child's staple dinner!)

Fruit and veg still mostly the best though, just really frustrating to only be able to do half a shop there.

@ArcheryAnnie - Thanks! Happy to help

I don't often get to talk about my work / experience so I love this type of query. A fairly random career, no-one outside of the industry really understands what I do - essentially I put boxes on shelves and hope people prefer our boxes on our shelves vs our competitors.

A mix of commerciality, psychology and data - I'm not saving lives but I love it.

I wonder if M&S are seeing a drop in business as many of their customers are office workers heading home ime with something easy to Chuck in the oven, not a full shop. Now offices are closed and lots use Asda, Tesco etc for their full shop. Maybe this is why they’re having to change it up. I don’t think I’m contradicting @Pipsquiggle I just wonder if it’s one of the factors.

Tesco changed supplier for their ready made meals over a year ago so that might be the issue (they outsource the recipe and manufacturing of their branded products to a third party food manufacturer).

Ocado has clearly gone downhill since the switch to M&S so I now order from Ocado twice a month for what I can't find elsewhere (not for the M&S products) and buy the rest from local shops and Waitrose. It's more inconvenient but better than eating sh*t.