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Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
How M&S became a copycat machine
When Marks & Spencer released a new range of 'chunked 'n loaded' cookies last month, they were an instant hit. 'If you're thinking of going to your local M&S to get them after you watch this video, don't bother,' TikTok vlogger Carmie Sellitto told his 1.2 million followers. 'They will be sold out everywhere'. Within hours of the cookies appearing at M&S bakery counters, social media influencers were uploading reams of videos on social media to hail them a taste success. But not everyone was a fan. David Sawyer, from Melton Mowbray-based baker The Cookie Dealer, is shunning M&S over claims it copied his product. His complaints stem from a meeting with M&S a year ago, when his team were invited to present a range of custom chunked cookies. After M&S decided against placing an order, Sawyer says he had 'forgotten all about it'. That was until he spotted the retail giant's latest cookie range in July, which he says is eerily similar to his own. 'It was like all they wanted to do was to copy our product,' he says. 'I guess everybody has to get inspiration from somewhere.' M&S has rejected the allegations, insisting that it never copies any specific products or sellers. However, bosses have admitted that they are increasingly taking inspiration from viral trends, potentially putting the company on a collision course with other smaller brands. The brewing debate over alleged 'copycatting' is particularly sensitive for M&S, a company that has built a reputation for being fiercely protective of its designs. Most notably, it sued Aldi over its Colin the Caterpillar cake dupe, while it has also cracked down on other local retailers to prevent them from using the Percy Pig design. 'It would be easy to look at these things and be disappointed by M&S,' says David Sables, chief executive of Sentinel Management Consultants, which advises suppliers. However, even he admits that for a supermarket to be truly innovative is a challenge, as most retailers compete by tweaking existing products or adding new flavours. 'A lot of true innovation does come from smaller businesses and it makes perfect sense for the big retailers to be looking at that,' he says. This is particularly key for M&S, which has embarked on a major refresh of its food lines in the past year, introducing more than 400 new products since January. This already appears to be paying dividends, with a recent YouGov survey suggesting that customers view M&S as significantly better than rival supermarkets in offering new and unique products. Kathryn Turner, product development director at M&S Food, says: 'At M&S, our commitment to quality and innovation is at the heart of everything we do. We're continually developing new products designed to delight our existing customers and attract new ones.' She said it was focusing on a 'more consistent stream of innovation throughout the year'. The strategy has already yielded positive results, regardless of the recent cyber attack, with bosses hailing the fact that it has sold more than 1.4 million of its 'chunked 'n loaded' cookies since its launch in July. The notorious strawberry and cream sandwich, which M&S introduced as a limited edition product in June, has also been a bestseller. Still, some have questioned how innovative M&S's products truly are. Earlier this year, a 'strawberry sando' from Japanese retailer SevenEleven had gone viral on TikTok prior to M&S's release. M&S has also faced accusations that its 'Chocolate Custard Cream Biscuity Easter Egg', which also gained viral fame on social media, was a copy of a chocolate egg from Flo Broughton's Choc on Choc business. 'We'd been working with M&S, so they had seen our full range,' she says. 'We had talked to them about making those things for them, so they knew what we made.' M&S has denied wrongdoing, with a spokesman insisting: 'It's an evolution of our customer favourite Outrageously Chocolatey Custard Creams and takes inspiration from the much-loved British custard cream.' However, Broughton insists that 'the claim they never saw our design was absolutely ridiculous'. Claire Hughes, a former food technology boss at M&S and ex-director of product at Sainsbury's, says retailers have always looked for inspiration from various places, taking ideas and making them their own. 'If you're doing a big push on barbecue, you would go into Texas and see what's happening there in terms of barbecuing, and you would bring that back,' she says. Now, with more people using apps such as TikTok to discuss food, 'trends are happening almost instantly', Hughes says. 'The question is, how do you get on them really quickly, work with your suppliers and turn them into products on shelves?' She says over the past year, M&S has been 'really good at turning trends around pretty quickly'. Yet, it appears small independent brands risk paying the price, as they become a victim of their own success if a product goes viral online. At The Cookie Dealer, Sawyer says there is little he can do. M&S has contacted him to make clear it had already been developing its own chunked cookies and it has denied copying his products. 'They said it was a coincidence,' he says. Still, Sawyer says there has been a silver lining to his situation. The dispute has attracted the attention of Aldi, which has contacted the Cookie Dealer team to set up a meeting later this month. 'We dust ourselves down and just get on with things,' Sawyer says. 'All we can try to do is make the best cookies you can.'
Daily Mirror
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I tried croissants from Harrods and Lidl and there was clear winner'
A foodie decided to see if Harrods food products are worth the price tags as he compared a croissant from Lidl to a pastry from the department store's iconic food hall Luxury department store Harrods is known for selling exclusive products at high-end prices, whether it's clothes, homeware, or even food. But do the luxury price tags actually mean these products are better than their cheaper alternatives? This is what food fanatic Carmie Sellitto wanted to find out as he put the department store's wares to the test. To do so, he compared a croissant he bought from there to a croissant from Lidl 's bakery. And with the Harrods one costing him almost 20 times more, would it live up to his high expectations, or would the Lidl alternative prove itself better? Taking to TikTok, Carmie decided to share his comparison to his 1.2 million followers, as the video started with him buying the two croissants before starting the test. "Let's compare the Harrods croissant to Lidl," he said in the video, holding up the two croissants. "I wonder what's gonna taste better." He went on to tease in the caption of the video: "this actually really surprised me." Starting with the croissant from Lid, he pointed out the simplistic brown paper bag packaging, but shared his amazement as he only paid 59p for the croissant. "Take a look at that. This looks pretty decent," he said as he held up the croissant for viewers to see before he took his first bite. "Wow, I really thought that because of the price, this was gonna taste horrible. This tastes really good! Just look at the inside, it looks so fresh," Carmie said as he showed the fluffy layers inside the croissant. He then moved on to the Harrods croissant, which he said could be the most expensive croissant in London as it cost him a whopping £12, making it about 20 times more expensive than the Lidl croissant. "Let's see if it tastes 20 times better," he said as he opened up the box that it came in. He then got a shock as he realised there was an edible gold leaf placed on top of the croissant. "Not to mention it's absolutely massive. This could easily feed a family of four," he said as he held up the croissant to show that it was bigger than his head. It was also filled with cucumber, salmon, cream cheese, as well as some caviar. "That's a lot of filling in here," he said before finally taking the first bite out of it. "Okay wow. I'm not gonna lie to you guys, I wanted to hate it, just because it's so obnoxious. But it's absolutely insane, like is there anything Harrods can't do?" He then went on to show what the inside of the sandwich looked like after a bite, saying: "Look how good my next bite looks." "Not only is the flavour absolutely amazing, it also makes you feel expensive because you're left looking like gold," he said as he showed how the gold leaf was now stuck to his fingers, which he said tasted 'like nothing'. So which croissant was the best? After his taste test, Carmie went on to rate the Lidl croissant a respectable eight out of ten. But the Harrods croissant still won the taste test, scoring a ten out of ten. Despite Carmie's thoughts, several people soon took to the comments to say they didn't think it was a fair comparison. "You can't compare these two it's not the same," one person said, with many agreeing it wasn't fair to compare a plain croissant to a filled one. A second person argued: "Harrods looks like a bread roll shaped like a croissant." Meanwhile, a third person said: "£12 seems pretty cheap for that from Harrods."
Daily Mail
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Man tests £16 Harrods chicken Kiev to see how it compares to the £6 M&S variety - with very surprising results
A food fanatic has revealed that he prefers M&S 's £6.75 chicken Kiev over the £16 version from Harrods. Carmie Sellitto tested both varieties the Ukrainian staple but felt that the high street chain's version was a tastier meal - despite being less than half the price. The British TikToker, who goes by the name @touchdalight online, said 'in some chicken Kievs you get a lot of overpowered flavours but this is just perfect' when reviewing M&S's version. He added that 'the garlic butter in this is actually incredible, the flavour is brilliant and even the coating of the chicken is perfect'. But the luxury department store's imitation left much to be desired, despite costing considerably more. 'This is three times more expensive [sic] than the M&S one so it better taste three times better,' he commented as he unpacked the meal. When he first cuts into the chicken, Mr Selitto exclaims 'what! Look at the garlic butter in there' and showed the food to the camera. Whereas M&S's version had garlic butter 'bursting out' when it was sliced, the Harrods sauce held its shape more and did not trickle out in the same way. Mr Selitto, who often makes videos comparing food, said it 'kind of looks like pea sauce' but noted that 'it's pretty loaded with chicken to be fair, you can't go wrong with that'. However, the fault the critic had issue most with was its allegedly strong lemon flavours. He said: 'The sauce is really good to be fair, I really like that, but I'm getting mad hints of lemon which I don't like too much. 'The sauce is also a lot thicker than the M&S one, I'm assuming they've got completely different ingredients because they taste very different. 'The sauce is very overpowering in this.' He added: 'I do prefer the breadcrumbs on the M&S one, it just feels more crunchy and this one is more soggy.' The influencer then concluded: 'I would rate the M&S one a nine out of 10 and the Harrods one a 8.5 out of 10.' He explained this was due to the pricing but remained unconvinced if he would choose the Harrods variety if it cost the same. 'I think its mainly because of the pricing but if they were the same price maybe I'd buy Harrods but then again I'm not sure,' he said. On its website, Harrods advertises its Chicken Kiev at £16 (despite Mr Sellitto saying he bought his for £14) and served two people. The M&S variety said that it served one person. Chicken Kievs caused a huge debate in 2023 over its pronunciation - in a one-off Christmas special, William Sitwell delivered a homemade version on Celebrity Masterchef, but the dish was repeatedly pronounced as 'Chicken Kyiv.' The pronunciation, which has been re-adopted by Ukranians following the country's invasion by Russia in February 2022, caught many viewers off-guard. One posted: 'WTH... have I been saying it wrong all thes years???,' and another shared: '#masterchef we all been calling it wrong should be chick keev not chicken kieyev.' The pronounciation, which has been re-adopted by Ukranians following the country's invasion by Russia in February 2022, caught many viewers off-guard A third posted: 'So, are there any other obviously uncultured souls out there, who still pronounce it chicken kiev, rather than chicken keeev?' 'I've just learned I've been pronouncing chicken Kiev wrong,' one added. 'Kiev' was the standardised spelling for the city under Soviet rule, but recent Russian aggression has seen more Western institutions heed calls to abandon it in favour of the Ukrainian alternative. And after the invasion began in 2022, many shoppers called for supermarkets to rename the dish as chicken kviv.
Metro
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
M&S has dropped a 'phenomenal' new sweet treat and it's already selling out
This month, Marks & Spencer went viral with their Japanese-inspired strawberry sandwich. And now, if you head to the bakery in your local M&S you'll find a new craze: Chunked N' Loaded cookies. In a supermarket first, these cookies have both a topping and a filling, akin to brands like Ben's Cookies and Crumbl Cookies. They're freshly made in the bakery, and did we mention it'll only cost you £2? The cookies are available in three flavours: Raspberry Cheesecake, Chocolate & Hazelnut, and of course, the flavour of the year – pistachio. (Honestly, if we have to hear about Dubai chocolate one more time…) It's no surprise that M&S has gifted shoppers with these new cookies, given that last year, the supermarket sold 46 million individual cookies, including the Speckled Egg cookies which sold 710,000 in a single week. And fans are already going wild for this new offering, with many already struggling to get their hands on one in their local supermarket. Reviewing the treats, TikToker Darcie Ratcliff said: 'It's like a Ben's Cookie, it's literally the same texture… it's a throwback. It's not dry at all, squidgy centre, crunchy outside.' She gave the Raspberry Cheesecake flavour, with a smooth chocolate drizzle and freeze-dried raspberries, an 8.5 out of 10. It features an all-butter cookie dough with a generous amount of white chocolate chips. Fellow TikToker Carmie Sellitto branded the cookies 'unreal' giving them a nine out of 10, and seemed to be a particular fan of the Chocolate & Hazelnut. 'For someone who had a crumbl cookie, these are better,' he said. Think a chocolate flavoured dough made using an all-butter recipe with hazelnuts and dark chocolate chips. It's then filled with a rich, gooey chocolate and hazelnut filling and topped with a milk chocolate drizzle and chopped roasted hazelnuts. The Pistachio cookie, if that's your thing, is made up of a white chocolate chip and pistachio cookie dough, flavoured with Sicilian lemon and filled with pistachio butter and rich cream cheese. To top it off there's some white chocolate drizzle and crushed pistachios to garnish. More Trending People on social media were also desperate to try the treats, saying: 'I fear I may never successfully stick to a calorie deficit and it will always be M&S's fault.' 'That raspberry cheesecake cookie has me written all over it,' added another. Others branded them 'phenomenal' and claimed they 'need these in [their] lives'. View More » So, will you be giving them a go? Do you have a story to share? Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@ MORE: Get 1.36kg of chocolate bars for less than 22p each during Amazon July Prime Days MORE: Move over Dubai chocolate — there's a new craze hitting the shops MORE: Aldi has introduced a one-per-customer limit on 'world's best' £15 item Your free newsletter guide to the best London has on offer, from drinks deals to restaurant reviews.
Daily Mirror
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
'I tried world's rarest honey and price was as astounding as the taste'
A food reviewer who loves trying expensive and unique items has tasted the 'world's rarest' honey after finding it in Harrods, and issued his verdict on the pricey condiment When it comes to shopping, many of us like to treat ourselves every now and then to something a little more luxurious. For some of us it might be new clothes, others love to buy new games, and many love to indulge in luxury food items. But would you go as far to pay a fortune for pure honey? One man recently spent a fortune on the "world's most expensive" jar of honey - which is sold in Harrods - and has shared his honest thoughts on whether the product is worth it or not. The rare Turkish honey, by Elvish, was harvested in the remote mountains of Artvin. The honey is so valuable and rare because of the extreme conditions in which it is made. The bees that produce the honey belong to an endangered subspecies known as 'Apis mellifer causasica'. Harvesting is a gruelling task; teams have to go on an eight-hour journey through the mountains to extract it from a cave in Scaricayir Valley. The company said: "Elvish honey is harvested using 4,000-year-old techniques passed down through Laz culture. We use traditional Blackhives (Karakovan) made from hollowed linden trees, where beekeepers do not interfere with the natural life cycle of the colony. The queen bee is never replaced artificially. If she dies, the entire hive may perish - making each jar of honey the result of a fully natural and uncontrollable process." According to Elvish's website, the hive produces only 10 to 12kg of honey per year. The product is sold in Harrods, in a fancy black box which comes with a decanter, a beautiful bottle, and a wooden spoon. But many cannot get passed the price, as it is sold for a staggering £1,250. Popular London food reviewer Carmie Sellitto, better known as @touchdaylight on TikTok, loves trying expensive and unique products around the world. So, of course he had to give the honey a go. Sharing his review, Carmie said: "I am going to be so real with you guys, I spent so much money on this... let's take a look." He couldn't believe it when he opened the box and found the honey "in its own brief case." Carmie added: "I genuinely cannot believe this is in my presence right now. It's not just honey, it's the most rare honey in the world. Formed in Turkey, no humans even touch it. It's like the gold of all honey. This is so rare." He said it "smells like gold." Carmie poured the honey onto the wooden spoon and was amazed by how smooth it looked. According to Elvish's website, the product is best to enjoy on an empty stomach. However, Carmie decided not to honour this suggestion, deciding instead to pour the honey over some McDonald's chicken nuggets. He said: "There are absolutely no words to describe how unreal that just tasted. I need 25 more bottles of this. I've never experienced anything like this. This is by far the best thing I've tried on my food journey." Commenting on the video, one person said: "Evlish honey looks amazing." But others weren't so sure. "Why would anyone spend £1250 on honey?" questioned one. "What a stupid waste of money," declared another. One other said: "I buy local honey from where I live, extracted from the hive, fresh every morning. £8.99. That will do for me." Another shared: "I get the most incredible honey for free from my neighbours. Beautiful, light, fragrant honey."
