M&S slammed over charging £4.25 for two slices of bread
The M&S chief executive hailed the pricey product as one of his favourites
Marks & Spencer has come under fire for selling two slices of bread for up to £4.25, with shoppers calling on the retailer to justify the price of its new “Pan de Cristal” range.
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The traditional Spanish bread, originating from Catalonia, is described by M&S as “a light, crisp bread perfect for toasting and topping with our crushed tomato bread topper.”
But the recommended tomato topping - a 250ml puree of tomato, olive oil and salt - costs an additional £2.65, bringing the total price for the pairing to more than £7.
In a recent LinkedIn post, M&S chief executive Stuart Machin hailed the bread as one of his favourite new products, but customers online were less impressed.
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One TikTok user fumed: “What in the hell is this £4 half piece of baguette about?”
Another said: “The joke is, you get this in Spain for €2 [£1.80].”
Chris Young, from the Real Bread Campaign, criticised the supermarket to the Telegraph, saying M&S should justify the cost “given the economies of the enormous scale at which even supposedly ‘artisan’ supermarket loaves are manufactured.”
He added that the price point was in the “ballpark that small independents need to charge in order to remain financially viable."
“Can the same be said of a supermarket?"
On a weight basis, the Pan de Cristal costs around £2.50 per 100g, compared to just 9p per 100g for a standard M&S white loaf - more than 25 times the price.
An M&S spokesperson defended the pricing, saying the brand offers “a broad range of products at different price points”, from 75p loaves to 80p half-baguettes.
They said: “Our tapas-style Spanish Pan de Cristal is made with restaurant-quality ingredients including Spanish-made bread from the Catalan region and extra virgin olive oil.
"We know our customers want different products for different occasions - from a weekday breakfast with the family to serving friends restaurant-quality tapas at home."
The retailer also said the product had been “very popular,” selling 75,000 packs since launch and more than 5,000 per week over the summer.
The criticism comes amid renewed cost of living pressures, with food prices up 4.7% year-on-year.
Treasury officials have said tackling inflation remains a “priority.”