Marks & Spencer will deliver sandwiches and hot meals to more than 2,500 Costa Coffee stores as the retailer looks for new ways to reach commuters now working from home.
M&S says it will supply more than 30 different items to Costa including baby food, hot food boxes and salads in partnership with the UK’s largest coffee chain.
The retailer says the partnership with the coffee shop, which was purchased by Coca-Cola in 2018, will give it access to neighborhood locations, driveways, high streets and retail parks.
The deal is M&S’s latest attempt to expand its food distribution following the purchase of a stake in Ocado’s retail arm and replacing Waitrose as the online grocery specialist’s primary partner. The deal with Ocado resulted in M&S being able to start selling groceries online with home delivery for the first time just over a year ago.
M&S has also been testing its Simply Food convenience stores in WH Smith stores and delivering food to some British Airways flights for about three years ending in 2020.
Meanwhile, M&S is revamping its stores and products to appeal to more families, helping it return to pre-tax profit in the six months to October after a loss of nearly £88 million in the same period. last year.
The strong performance reflects a 10% increase in food sales as well as a “significant improvement” in the once-struggling clothing and home goods business.
Stuart Machin, chief executive officer of M&S’s food division, said: “Combining delicious M&S food, great quality and the nation’s largest coffee shop chain has been fantastic for customers. as it expands our reach and supports our strategy to make M&S more relevant, more often than not, for families. ”
The partnership could be good for both sides, analysts say, with M&S benefiting from increased sales and higher volumes boosting the company’s profit margins. Costa has the opportunity to expand the variety of foods they offer, especially in terms of healthy eating and new trends like plant-based foods that M&S has developed a full range of.
Bryan Roberts, a retail analyst at Shopfloor Insights, said retailers are looking at new ways to sell their products in local neighborhoods as trips to city centers decrease. during the pandemic. “Lifestyles are changing with the shift to working from home and Costa needs to up the game on branded food and M&S and credentials [to help it do that], “I said.
Neil Lake, managing director of the Costa Coffee UK and Ireland division, said: “This partnership with M&S… will build on our existing foods and help us deliver. ambition to be the first choice for customers to buy food and coffee.”
