Wildfarmed, the pioneering regenerative farming and food company, continues to grow its relationship with national retailer, M&S, with an inclusion in its top-performing in-store bakery range.
Wildfarmed Regenerative Flour will be included in the M&S Collection Sourdough range, consisting of a white sourdough, seeded sourdough, signature sourdough and sourdough baguette, from August 2023. Already selling over 75k loaves per week, the freshly-baked range is available at over 500 M&S stores across the UK. The Wildfarmed inclusion now helps more Brits to choose delicious food that is better for you and the planet.
Wildfarmed wheat is grown in line with the Wildfarmed Regenerative Standards, the UK’s first third-party audited protocols for arable farmers created to guarantee the gold standard of regenerative agriculture. Wildfarmed wheat is grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides and grown alongside companion and cover crops, restoring biodiversity, soil and ecosystem health. Farmers who switch to Wildfarmed are provided with a proven, commercial roadmap that prioritises food security and nutritional quality whilst restoring their soils, ensuring flexibility for growers and genuinely regenerative outcomes for customers, allowing them to become part of the solution to the world’s most complex problem: climate change and nature loss.
M&S first launched Plan A in 2007, which was pioneering in its approach to sustainability. Now, this way of thinking about environmental, ethical trade, animal welfare and healthier foods is a core part of how the company sources and makes its products, and how it runs its business.
The retailer is targeting to become a net zero business by 2040. Given that over 70% of M&S Food’s emissions comes directly from agriculture, sustainable farming is not just a nice-to-have but a necessity. M&S is working in partnership with farmers to shift to more regenerative agricultural practices that deliver positive economic, environmental, and social outcomes alongside productivity.
Since 2022, when M&S became the first national retailer to collaborate with Wildfarmed, customers have snapped up over a million loaves in the M&S x Wildfarmed range, which tops reviews. The range is rated between 4.4 and 4.7 on Ocado, with the Fruit & Treacle loaf the highest rated bakery product on the platform.
The inclusion of Wildfarmed flour in the Collection Sourdough range features in M&S’s Farm to Foodhall campaign, starring Tom Kerridge, created to fulfil consumer desire to know more about where their food comes from. The range offers great value in terms of range and provenance values that Wildfarmed has also embedded in its products to enhance taste and health, while restoring the environment.
Farm to Foodhall is one of M&S’s most widespread campaigns to date, with a plan for nine out of ten UK adults to see the ads more than thirteen times this summer.
George Lamb, co-founder at Wildfarmed, said: The huge success of our first bread range proved that the British public want to engage in products that not only taste better, but are better for you and the planet. By bringing Wildfarmed flour into Marks and Spencer’s in-store bakery products, there are now more ways than ever to experience the unrivalled benefits of food grown to the gold standard of regenerative agriculture, Wildfarmed. We needn’t choose between food that’s good for us or food that’s good for the planet.
Edd Lees, co-founder at Wildfarmed, said: “The expansion of Wildfarmed flour at Marks & Spencer proves regenerative agriculture is an effective way to solve sustainability issues within the supply chain, and effectively drive landscape change, from farming that works against nature, to farming that works with it. By choosing to work with Wildfarmed, M&S are taking a step towards vital climate goals on the road to net zero. One thing is clear: High quality, regenerative food has momentum. By continually making it a choice for customers, it will transform the fate of our planet, and change the way we eat, for good.”
Harry Peak, M&S product developer for bakery, said: “We’re thrilled to expand our highly popular collaboration with Wildfarmed as it remains ever clear that the public wants sustainable products that taste incredible. We are working with our farmers in different product supply chains to support the uptake of regenerative agriculture practices. This new Wildfarmed collaboration makes it more possible than ever for people to choose food made from crops grown regeneratively, which brings soil back to life. It’s part of a journey to ensure that no one needs to compromise between food that tastes great, is good for them or the planet.”
