M&S Launches – and Twitter

Very quick post – and not my usual sort, but hopefully appreciated by dairy and gluten sensitives … and perhaps those who react to other allergens.

Have just attended an M&S press event in London. The following products are launching in April:

* GF Scotch Eggs
* GF Quiche Lorraine / C&O (my scribbled note – which I take to be cheese and onion)
* 2, possibly 3, dairy free milks – coconut and rice being the definite two. (They looked like chiller-cabinet rather than ambient, but I forgot to ask, so perhaps - in fact, probably - not.)

All looked very good, but could not sample them.

In June:

* 2 gluten-free beers.

I don’t know much about them – but Belgian.

I also saw some upcoming launches of baby / infant foods. Although not specifically being marketed ‘free from’, I was told they had consulted with one of the major children’s hospitals and taken advice on making them ‘good for allergies’ (words of the M&S assistant). I examined a few: some had major allergens, but others didn’t, and one was pureed (I think) carrot, beans, and quinoa flakes, and looked to me on very quick glance to be free of all 14 allergens. Not sure when these are launching, but will try to find out more.

On a separate note, I fell into conversation about social media with the lady looking after the beers, and mentioned to her that it might be a good idea for M&S (and other major supermarkets / retailers) to have dedicated social media eg Twitter accounts for ‘free from’. She liked the idea. I don’t follow the major supermarkets on social media, but for those who do, do they often tweet on ‘free from’ or not? And would dedicated accounts help?

Feel free to ask Qs on the above, and I will try to answer them or find out more. I'll speak to my colleagues on FreeFrom Foods Matter and hope we can review them there soon.

* UPDATE: the third dairy-free milk is an Oat Drink. All three (rice and coconut) will retail at £1.39 for 1 litre.

NB. All products launch 22nd April 2014.

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