M&S
Cross between plum and mango launched in UK, with retailer predicting it will be a roaring success with its customers
M&S are launching an exclusive new variety of plum to the UK.
The bouea macrophylla, or mango plum as it’s known in English, is a plum that has been crossed with a mango, and has been dubbed the ‘plango’.
The fruit has a bright orange skin, which is firmer than that of a plum and a sweet taste similar to that of an Alphonso mango, but with a softer plum-like texture.
M&S fruit buyer Shazad Rehman, said: “We’re really excited to be introducing the first mango plum to the UK. We know our customers like to try new and interesting fruit, and we’re sure this will be something they will really enjoy.
“It has a soft texture and all the delicious flavour of a mango without any of the hassle to prepare as you can eat the skin.”
The plango is a tropical fruit grown on trees native to southeast Asia.
The M&S team have been working with their specialist growers in Thailand for several years to get it on shelves.
The fruit is much smaller than a traditional mango as it grows to just 5 cm in diameter and 10 cm in length.
Plangos are best enjoyed slightly chilled, and will be available in M&S stores across the country from this weekend (11/12 April) priced at £1 each.
Retailer claims that it is the only own-label retailer on the high street using baobab, which boasts numerous health benefits
M&S has launched a new juice booster featuring the latest superfruit, the baobab.
M&S claims that it is the only own-label retailer on the high street using baobab, which myriad ‘foodies’ are predicting to be the number one superfood for 2015.
The Active Health Raspberry, Redcurrant and Baobab Juice Booster has added antioxidant vitamins C & E, and joins a range that also consists of the Orange, Lemon and Ginger Juice Booster.
Each 150ml bottle counts towards one of your 5 A DAY and sits in the retailer’s Eat Well range.
Pronounced ‘bey-oh-bab’, the superfruit is grown in Africa on the baobab tree, the national tree of Madagascar.
Its flavour can be described as somewhere between grapefruit, pear, and vanilla.
It has been named a superfruit due to its nutritional benefits, including:
– 6 times the antioxidants of blueberries
– 6 times the Vitamin C of oranges
– 6 times the potassium of bananas
– More magnesium than coconut water
– Twice as much calcium as milk
M&S product developer, Jenny Rea, said: ‘Based on juice shots called ‘elixirs’, discovered during inspiration trips to LA, San Francisco and New York, the new juice boosters are all about getting one of your 5 A DAY in an easy and convenient way.
“The multi-pack format means that you can pick up a pack and kickstart your day every morning.”
Premium retailer said food sales in Christmas week were up a record 17%, and like-for-like sales grew by 0.1%
Marks and Spencer’s food business grew like-for-like sales by 0.1% in the 13 weeks to 27 December.
Total food sales rose by 2.8%, while sales in the Christmas week were up 17%.
The premium retailer said it had seen “record Christmas sales” in food, which “strongly outperformed the market”.
Despite a strong performance in the category, total like-for-like UK sales for the company fell by 2.7%, after a terrible performance in its general merchandise division, which includes womenswear, and where like-for-like sales were down 5.8%.
“Our food business delivered another excellent quarter, significantly outperforming the market by around three percentage points,” said CEO Marc Bolland.
“We saw record sales over the festive period, up 17% in the key Christmas week. Customers once again turned to us for our highly differentiated food offer, combining the best of quality, seasonal speciality and convenience, all at competitive prices.
“We launched nearly 750 new products giving customers more choice than ever, with record results in turkeys, party food, desserts and deli,” he said.
Bolland said disruption at the company’s Castle Donington distribution centre “strongly impacted” .com and general merchandise performance in December.
And he said overall international business was “heavily impacted” by the worsening currency and economic issues across its Middle East and Russia franchise region, but the business had performed well in other key markets such as India.
M&S will report its fourth quarter trading results on 2 April 2015.
Premium retailer’s food like-for-like sales were up 1.7% while online sales plummeted by 8.1%
Sales from Marks & Spencer’s website M&S.com fell by 8.1% in the first quarter of 2014, while food like-for-like sales rose 1.7%.
The company said its buoyant food business has been driven by a strategy to be more specialist, as well as new products.
Chief executive Marc Bolland said the new M&S.com site has had an impact on general merchandise sales, while food continues to outperform the market.
“Our food business had a great quarter with our strategy to be more specialist setting us apart from the competition,” he said. “With value top of mind for customers, we remained price competitive while protecting our gross margin. We launched some 700 new products giving customers more choice than ever.
“In line with our increased focus on margin, we were less promotional, both online and in stores. While this has affected the sales performance, particularly online, we are on track to deliver our full year gross margin guidance.”
Bolland confirmed that the premium retailer is on track to open 150 new Simply Food stores opening over the next three years.
He said the website has been “technically resilient” and confirmed the company is now focused on optimising the website commercially, with updates made on a regular basis.
“We have recently seen a gradual improvement in sales performance, despite a lower level of promotional activity. We expect to return to growth ahead of our peak trading period,” he added.
Trading conditions in the Republic of Ireland continue to be challenging, Bolland said, while sales in the Middle East were impacted by the timing of shipments to franchise partners.