Marks and Spencer announces major sustainable change to its coffee cups in 'planet-friendly' move

The retailer said: "Marks & Spencer has announced that it will be rolling out its market leading, paper fibre takeaway coffee cup to all M&S Cafés from next month.

"In October, M&S became the first major high street coffee retailer to offer its delicious coffee and all hot drinks in a paper fibre cup and lid, which is 100 per cent recyclable in household and on-the-go recycling.

"Having launched in 20 stores, from next month, the paper fibre coffee cups will be available in over 300 M&S stores across the UK including M&S Cafés, vended coffee points and Marketplaces within its Foodhalls."

Marks and Spencer explained the decision behind the change. The popular retailer said: "Reducing plastic packaging is one of the key issues M&S customers care strongly about and the retailer has a leading track record of taking action.

"Last year, M&S met its Plan A target to remove 75 million units of plastic in 2023/24 and this rollout is expected to remove a further 20 million units of plastic packaging each year from M&S’ Food business."

Marks and Spencer's new move comes as the retailer introduced new recyclable paper packaging across M&S Café sandwiches and toasties earlier this year. This removed 4.5 million units of plastic.

Marks and Spencer said: "M&S currently offers a 50p discount on all hot drinks in its Cafes for customers who bring their own reusable cup which is the most sustainable option. However, when this isn’t possible M&S’ new cups are a planet-friendly alternative."

Director of Hospitality at M&S Food Alicia Thompson said: "Our goal is to offer customers the most sustainable cup of coffee on the high street.

"A takeaway coffee they can feel good about drinking because it comes in fully recyclable cups, uses delicious 100 per cent Fairtrade coffee beans, and is made with RSPCA Assured fresh milk.

"Our customers care strongly about reducing plastic and they’ve supported our move to paper fibre cups. With no impact to the taste or temperature of their hot drink - and now 100 per cent recyclable - this is one of the ways we’re supporting our customers to make small changes in their everyday lives, which have a big impact on the environment."

And this sustainable change isn't the only exciting news for M&S Café goers. The retailer has made a change to create a more "intense" espresso base.

Marks and Spencer said: "M&S Café has over 1,000 trained master baristas ready to prepare delicious coffee. Last week, the retailer announced that customers will benefit from a change of espresso base recipe from 15g to 18g in each cup.

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"This is alongside a reduction in water used to brew espresso from 60ml to 40ml creating overall a more intense espresso base for all coffees served in the M&S Cafés.

"The brand has made these changes to improve the quality of its coffee drinks and bring its offer more in line with customer's expectations of speciality coffee shops. With more coffee and less water, the bolder brew will also benefit from utilising whole milk as standard, resulting in a much smoother and more flavourful coffee."

Marks and Spencer was recently crowned the best supermarket of 2024. Which? revealed that the beloved supermarket scored five out of five for both overall customer service and store appearance in their annual supermarket satisfaction survey for in-store shopping.

Aldi and Waitrose claimed second and third place, respectively,in terms of their overall customer score rating of in-store shopping. Asda and Morrisons were ranked the lowest for overall customer score.