Million-selling M&S strawberry sandwich returns as retailer unveils new chocolate and pistachio twist

Marks & Spencer’s is latest food-on-the-move innovation, the new Chocolate, Strawberry & Pistachio Creme Sandwich

Marks & Spencer is bringing back its hugely popular Red Diamond Strawberry & Creme Sandwich after it sold more than one million units in just five weeks last summer, while also launching a brand-new chocolate and pistachio version in time for Wimbledon.

The retailer announced the return of the fan-favourite sandwich alongside the launch of its new Chocolate, Strawberry & Pistachio Creme Sandwich, a product made possible by a £900,000 investment from long-term supplier partner Greencore in specialist production facilities.

The move builds on the extraordinary success of last year’s limited-edition Red Diamond Strawberry & Creme Sandwich, which became one of M&S Food’s standout seasonal products and proved there was a strong appetite for innovative sweet food-on-the-move options.

A new Wimbledon-inspired creation

Launching in M&S Foodhalls from today (24 June), the new Chocolate, Strawberry & Pistachio Creme Sandwich combines British strawberries with Fairtrade dark chocolate sauce and roasted pistachio crème, served on cocoa-enriched bread.

The sandwich has been designed to coincide with the Wimbledon season, drawing on the long-standing association between strawberries and summer sporting tradition.

While the returning Red Diamond Strawberry & Creme Sandwich offers customers a chance to enjoy a proven favourite once again, the new chocolate and pistachio version aims to bring an even more indulgent flavour combination to shelves.

£900,000 investment unlocks new capability

The launch has been enabled by a dedicated nut production facility opened earlier this year by Greencore at its Northampton M&S “fortress factory”.

Greencore invested £900,000 in the new facility, which allows nut-containing food-on-the-move products to be produced safely, consistently and at scale.

The investment not only supported the creation of the Chocolate, Strawberry & Pistachio Creme Sandwich but has also helped facilitate the production of other recent launches, including M&S’s Bang Bang Chicken Wrap.

The Northampton site is operated exclusively for M&S and forms part of the retailer’s wider “fortress factory” strategy, which focuses on strengthening long-term supplier partnerships and investing in specialist production capabilities.

Long-term partnership behind innovation

M&S said the project demonstrates how its transformation strategy is helping bring new products to market while creating the confidence for suppliers to invest in future growth.

Alex Freudmann, Managing Director of M&S Food, said:

“Our long-term supplier partnerships are central to the transformation of M&S Food.

“They give us the confidence and capability to keep innovating at pace, while investing with us in the quality, consistency and scale our customers expect from us.

“Greencore’s dedicated nut production facility at Northampton is a great example of that partnership in action – creating new capability in one of our fortress factories and helping us bring distinctive, market-leading products like our Chocolate, Strawberry & Pistachio Creme Sandwich to customers.”

Dalton Philips, Chief Executive of Greencore Group, added:

“The new dedicated nut production facility at Greencore Northampton is a great example of what a genuine long-term partnership looks like in practice.

“We invested in the capability, M&S brought the product vision, and the result is something customers are really going to love.

“I am so proud of what we have delivered together.”

More innovation planned

M&S and Greencore say they are already exploring further opportunities to develop food-on-the-move products using nut ingredients, with future innovations expected to focus on enhancing flavour, texture and customer choice.

For shoppers, however, the immediate headline is the return of a sandwich that became one of last summer’s surprise food sensations, alongside a bold new variation that M&S hopes can repeat the success of its million-selling predecessor.