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Our Penny Bazaars sell some basic food items, such as flour, spices and confectionery.

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Ice cream counters were introduced in 1927, two years later we began selling sandwiches.

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M&S food departments opened in all stores, selling canned goods, fruit, vegetables and cakes.

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Provisions including cooked meats, sausages, pies, cheese and bacon were introduced to selected stores.

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Cafe Bars opened in a selection of stores. Customers could order hot meals including chops, steaks or fish and chips.

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We established our own fruit distribution centre in London’s Covent Garden – a move to work directly with producers and suppliers that continues today.

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Food rationing was introduced. Cafe Bar and restaurant meals were not rationed, though some foods were in short supply. Our café bars were very popular with customers as they did not require the use of ration book coupons for payment.

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After the War we appointed a Technical Executive and Chief Chemist – Nathan Goldenberg – whose Food Technology Department went on to improve quality control, hygiene and safety standards.
Self-service food shopping was introduced the same year. It completely revolutionised food retail spaces, with customers selecting their own food from open shelving. Wood Green store made history as it was used for the first trials of self- service at M&S.

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Our Cake Department worked closely with suppliers to produce high quality, fast- selling cakes which could be produced in volume. Swiss Rolls and Gateaux were amongst the first cakes produced for M&S in this way. Following the de-rationing of sugar in 1953, our range of cakes and biscuits expanded rapidly.

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The first use of ‘St Michael’ on foods was likely to have been on a packet of Almond Crisps.

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Fresh, chilled chicken goes on sale in stores, in newly installed chilled cabinets
–it is an immediate success with customers. We advertised that all St Michael chickens reach the customer only two days after being killed.

Nursing Times published a survey on hygiene in M&S stores, with recommendations on how techniques could be transferred to hospitals. It included praise of the smoking ban, introduced in 1959.

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Armoride House opened near Marble Arch as our first stand alone food store.

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The Food Technology Department introduced ‘sell-by’ dates to wrappers, an innovation adopted by other retailers and which would later become a legal requirement

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Foil-wrapped, boil-in-the bag, ‘convenience foods’, such as Ravioli, were introduced.

Package holidays were becoming more popular, so M&S food ranges begin to reflect the public’s interest in new cuisine, such as a new range of frozen Indian dishes that included chicken korma and pork vindaloo.

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Our ready prepared Chicken Kiev was launched. It was so successful we set up a new factory dedicated to producing the product.

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Sandwiches were re-launched – the most popular was Prawn and Mayonnaise, launched in 1981.

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A new range of vegetarian main meals, including lasagne and moussaka were introduced.

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By the 1990s, speciality customer service areas began to appear. Rear service deli counters, butcher shops, loose fruit and vegetables and wet fish all provided the customer with a personal touch as well as expert advice.

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Percy Pigs were launched. By 2014 over one billion Percy Pigs have been sold.

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The Count On Us range was launched, with meals containing less than 3% fat and reduced calories.

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By 2002 all eggs used in our food range came from free range hens.

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Our first ‘This is not just food, this is M&S food’ television advert was aired. One of the most iconic adverts from this campaign featured the Melt in the Middle Chocolate Pudding. When aired, sales of the product increased 3000%

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The popular Dine In For Two For £10.00 promotion was launched.

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The Fuller Longer range was developed with expert advice from scientists at the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health at the University of Aberdeen, renowned for its ground-breaking research on effective weight-loss.

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Our Adventures in Food campaign, launched in 2014 showcases products such as our Chocolate Jaffa Spheres.

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We launched Simply M&S, a range of everyday food products and must-have kitchen ingredients that offered M&S quality at great value prices.

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This year saw the launch of Adventures in Wonder food, a new eat well range of healthy, balanced meals, snacks and ingredients created with everyday nutrition in mind.