Ben Williams
M&S was hardly short of sweet treats already, but one biscuit line in particular has ended up building the sort of following supermarkets usually hope for rather than expect.
Its chocolate-coated biscuits have become a favourite with shoppers who treat them less like something to have with a cup of tea and more like a reason to make another trip to the foodhall. They already come in regular packs, mini snack bags and even an Easter egg version, which tells you this is not some quiet one-off success sitting unnoticed on a shelf.
With that, this latest addition is very likely to get some attention. The original version has already been praised online, picked up strong reviews and developed the kind of reputation that makes any new spin-off feel like it has been made for people who were going to buy it anyway. And this time, M&S has gone for size.
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The retailer has now launched The Giant Outrageously Chocolatey Milk Chocolate Coated Custard Cream, a £5 bar that is essentially one oversized version of the biscuit. If you know the brand’s Big Daddy bars, that is apparently the sort of territory this sits in. The box also makes its position very clear, describing it as ‘more chocolate than biscuit’.
That probably will not come as much of a surprise to anyone who has already tried the standard version. In reviews on Ocado, where the biscuits cost £3 for six (as spotted by Metro), they have been called ‘obscenely delicious’, ‘amazing’, ‘11/10’, ‘a game-changer of a biscuit’ and ‘the best biscuits’. One five-star review reads: ‘These are amazing, a fabulous idea to add chocolate and custard creams even more perfect!’
The bigger version is already doing the rounds online too. Photos and videos of the giant bar have started spreading across social media, including a TikTok video from Brandon Spatcher, a product development assistant at M&S, who said he helped create it. In the clip, he says: ‘It was so much fun to develop and I’m so excited. Look how huge this is.’ He then snaps the bar in half, takes a bite and adds: ‘all I need is a giant cup of tea’.
The comments were about what you would expect from a product like this. One person replied: ‘You need a Sports Direct mug with that.’ Another wrote: ‘The giant custard cream is dangerous… I’ll take 10.’ Someone else said: ‘Omg it’s actually the best thing ever.’ Others said they were ‘running to the shops’ to get one, while plenty more just called it ‘insane’.
It is also not the only new item hitting M&S Foodhalls right now, with Big Daddy Popcorn, Big Daddy Pistachio Bites, Speckled Egg Cookie Dough, new ice cream sauces and frozen chocolate-covered fruit all joining the line-up. Nevertheless, it is the giant custard cream that looks most likely to get people talking first.