More than one million ‘Red Diamond’ sandwiches sold in just five weeks, so it makes sense that M&S has bought it back again alongside a new addition - the Chocolate, Strawberry & Pistachio Crème Sandwich.
The extension of this range comes as “indulgent, limited-edition flavour combinations continue to drive shopper engagement across food-to-go,” Kirk Brazier, growth director of channel performance at Ipsos told Food Manufacture. It also taps into the Wimbledon strawberry trend and general pistachio mania.
The sandwich is accompanied with the launch of two sweet dips – strawberry and cream, and chocolate and pistachio – which are intended as complementary products.
The launch has all the hallmarks of another viral hit, and it’s certainly been drumming up attention across social media.
What makes the dessert sandwich a winner?
According to Deidre Walters, a founding partner of Untapped Innovation, the products that often generate genuine commercial excitement in food tend to “share something that is not always easy to articulate in a brief”.
She added: “They feel immediately right to the target consumer, even if that consumer has never encountered anything quite like them before.”
This is because the familiarity comes from an adjacent category – for example, while the Red Diamond sandwich took inspiration from the Japanese sando, it also pays homage to the classic Victoria sponge.
“A Victoria sponge is, when you consider it straightforwardly, a sandwich: two layers of something structural, held together by cream and fruit,” said Walters.
“M&S took this cake, which belongs to summer celebrations and the patisserie counter, and applied it to the food-to-go fixture at the moment when British strawberries are in season and Wimbledon is generating exactly the cultural warmth that makes that kind of indulgence feel appropriate.
“The consumer who picked it up was not being asked to take an enormous leap of faith. They were being offered something they already understood, in a format they already trusted.”
The 2026 pistachio sando has implemented a similar trick, with consumers already familiar with the taste following mainstream success in other categories including confectionery and beverages.
This means a significant proportion of consumers have likely already decided they like the new product, even before trying it, Walters explained.
But do we really need another sweet sandwich?
While the positive response to its Red Diamond has no doubt swayed this latest NPD, Clodagh Sherrard, MD at Levercliff, says it’s not clear whether M&S is using actual sales or media hype to measure success.
“My hunch is that it is the latter,” she said. “Although the original line sold out quickly last year it was then readily available when the novelty wore off.”
A visit by yours truly into a M&S in central London shortly after this latest sandwich launched confirmed neither strawberry or pistachio were flying off shelves (at least not in that particular outlet on that particular day).
For independent NPD expert, Lucy Wager, the industry’s growing tendency to chase viral trends is becoming problematic.
To illustrate her point, she looks back in time to M&S’s creation of the chicken kiev – a product that revolutionised the chilled ready-meal market.
“The chicken kiev was fulfilling a true need, it was launched at a time (1979) where women were working more; and we needed more convenience food for dinner time.”
Fast-forward to today, where you can basically get any kind of ready meal and real innovation that caters to unmet needs feels scarce.
“Everything’s been done a million times,” she continued. “So all that’s left now is do a sweet version of a sandwich – which shocks us and we all go crazy for it…although I doubt very many were sold and probably lots were wasted, but it drives that hype.
“That’s my problem with these novelty products that M&S are doing a brilliant job of bringing out…because actually we have an obesity crisis. And I know I sound miserable saying this – and I love sweet treats – but it all feels just too much.”
But arguably manufacturers and retailers are simply responding to the demands of the consumer, who are keen for new, shiny innovation.
According to Levercliff’s February 2026 innovation tracker, curiosity is the top driver for buying a product standing at 48% and up from 42% in Feb-25. While 66% of consumers claim to have been buying ‘little food and drink luxuries’ since the cost-of-living increase.
It poses a broader question around whether the industry should be focusing on creating products that are better for us rather than simply giving us what we want. In my opinion, it’s a careful balance - indulgence will always have its place alongside health-driven products.
It shouldn’t have to fall to ‘Tesco et al’ to solve obesity; alongside well-placed, clear policy from government, consumers do need to take some responsibility too.
It’s just that so far that tactic hasn’t really really worked...
Will this be a hit?
Regardless of your opinion on the need for a dessert sandwich, many will be wondering whether this latest NPD will sell well.
Sherrard isn’t sure; questioning whether a range extension is innovative enough for today’s consumers.
“Consumers tell us that as far as they are concerned there is little that is really new or exciting happening in food and drink,” she noted.
“In Levercliff’s Innovation tracker (Feb 2026), we asked people if they ‘recall seeing any new food or drink products in the last 3 months’ and we reported a decline in those seeing something new from 38% in Feb 25 to 31% in Feb 26.
“The decline was even greater for 18–34-year-olds (56% in 25 to 47% in 2026) – clearly the audience most likely to be excited by this type of product.
“The question for me is whether a range extension will have the same viral impact this year as it is perhaps a little ‘less new’ this time round.”
