Insight shows customers are prioritising their health in their weekly food shop, without comprising on value for money. As the number one retailer for healthy choices, M&S has brought over 20 family staple vegetables into its Remarksable Value and Dropped and Locked ranges, lowering the price of 19 products including chestnut mushrooms, sweet potatoes and leeks. It comes in the latest move by M&S to attract more family shoppers, following price investments in weekly shop essentials like beef mince in January. This brings the Remarksable Value range, which includes staple food items benchmarked to competitor prices, to over 140 products.
When asked about what health means to them, customers say that both quality and freshness are the most important factors. We are increasingly seeing customers adopt more plant-forward habits: According to Mintel, a significant majority of UK consumers are making conscious efforts to consume plant ingredients, with 71% trying to include a wide variety of plant ingredients in their diet. When it comes to evening meals specifically, 73% try to include plenty of plant ingredients like vegetables and pulses.
Remarksable Value is about offering M&S quality at a trusted low price, without compromising on the industry-leading sourcing standards customers know and expect. M&S works with over 1,000 Select Farm growers to bring the best-in-market fruit and vegetables to its Food stores across the UK, offering veg that can’t be bought in any other large retailer, including exclusive Isle of Wight Tomatoes and the first pick of seasonal British Asparagus and Jersey Royal Potatoes.
As M&S reshapes for growth, and doubles the size of its Food business, it continues to invest in its Remarksable Value to bring the best quality to shoppers: M&S cauliflower, for example, is 20% larger than the market average, and key lines including Chestnut Mushrooms are 100% British. By 2030, M&S aims for all fresh British products available on shelves to come from farms using regenerative practices.
Alex Freudmann, managing director of Food at M&S, said: “Families want to eat well without paying more, and vegetables are at the heart of the weekly shop. By lowering prices on everyday veg staples, we’re making it easier for more families to shop M&S as part of their weekly shop as we double the size of M&S Food.”
Tom Berry, drector of Kokoro Insights, says: “In 2026 we are seeing consumers look to prioritise both their health and value for money when it comes to their weekly food shop, without compromising on either. Brands that make it affordable to live a healthy lifestyle are the ones that win in this environment.”
Investments in prices of staples are supporting perceptions of value at M&S amongst families which have improved by +10%pts in the last two years, as families are now more likely than ever to consider shopping at M&S Food.
