DOES M&S DELIVER THE GOODS IN OCADO WARS?
Ocado is about to ditch Waitrose for M&S — who’ve developed hundreds of new taste-alike products to assuage sceptical devotees. So will Middle England swallow it?
NOT since Nigella recommended roast lettuce has such upset been unleashed on middle-class kitchens. When it was announced last February that Waitrose’s 19-year partnership with Ocado was ending, with arch- rival Marks & Spencer taking its place, wails of disbelief reverberated off granite worktops around Britain.
What next for those who want Waitrose sourdough? Or the parents who face a Friday night revolt if their Ocado driver can’t deliver the supermarket’s stone-baked pizza?
Marks & Spencer might have mastered the art of healthy convenience food, but few of its stores sell its full range and it has never been synonymous with the weekly family shop.
Until now. In a bid to stop Waitrose fans deserting Ocado in their droves, M&S — selling more than 6,000 products on Ocado from next month — is not only replicating the larger packet sizes Waitrose offers weekly shoppers, but introducing extraordinarily similar versions of some of Waitrose’s bestselling products.
It insists the new lines were not conceived to copy Waitrose. Some look so suspiciously familiar, however, that even a die-hard Waitrose fan would be forgiven for doing a double-take.
But can they compete with the much-loved originals? Or will Waitrose — itself launching thousands of products in an attempt to persuade shoppers to defect to its own website — emerge the winner? I was given a sneak preview of M&S’s new lines to compare with the products they’re replacing and put them to the test with the help of my family: husband Chris, daughter Rosie, nine, and son Felix, seven. Let the (artisan bread) bun fight commence.