M&S Food has launched Nutrient Dense, a new range of salads, snacks and meals designed to help people consume the right amounts of fibre, vitamins and minerals.

The Nutrient Dense range is packed with fibre, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that are important to health. Developed by M&S chefs and nutritionists using a nutrition criteria created in consultation with the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), the range is ideal for people eating less due to age, lifestyle or weight loss medication, helping to ensure fibre, vitamins and minerals are consumed despite smaller appetites.

This is particularly important given that 96% of the UK population are not meeting the recommended daily fibre intake of 30g, and many people are lacking in essential micronutrients*.

As the leading UK grocer for health**, M&S Food has developed 20 Nutrient Dense products using wholefoods and store cupboard ingredients. Created with M&S nutritionists, the range is designed to make it easier for customers to meet their daily recommended intakes of fibre, vitamins and minerals, even if they are monitoring calorie intake due to lifestyle, age or weight loss medication.

Each product contains at least one of 10 micronutrients, including vitamin D, iron, folate and vitamin B12, which many people are lacking in their diet. Research from the UK government’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2025 shows widespread deficiencies across the population, with 96% not meeting the daily fibre recommendation. M&S customers also strongly associate healthy eating with regular routines, particularly breakfast and midweek meals at home, with 79% saying healthy eating is important when doing a main grocery shop***.

The Nutrient Dense meals are clearly signposted with grams of fibre listed on pack, are calorie controlled and feature the Eat Well flower logo, making healthier choices easier for customers. The range was developed using a ‘Nutrient Dense nutrition criteria’, created in consultation with the British Nutrition Foundation.

Nutrient dense foods provide a more concentrated source of vitamins, minerals, fibre, healthy fats and protein relative to their calorie content. The new range is designed to do exactly that, supporting people who are focused on health goals, have a reduced appetite or are taking weight loss medication. In these situations, ensuring adequate fibre and nutrient intake is particularly important, as smaller portions can result in nutritional gaps.

M&S Head of Food Nutrition, Grace Ricotti, says: “Our Nutrient Dense range is perfect for customers looking to support their health as each recipe is packed with the key nutrients we all need in our diets.

"With the increase in popularity of weight-loss injections, a reduced appetite can mean missing out on important nutrients and that’s why nutrient density is so important. These new meals, snacks and drinks can help everyone get more fibre, vitamins and mineral in their diet. We challenged ourselves to make products that are denser in nutrients than calories, so every single mouthful is packed full of more of the good stuff we all need.”

"The importance of us all eating enough fibre cannot be overestimated. As well as helping day to day with effective digestion, long term it is important to reduce the risk of bowel cancer and so many other diseases. Products such as our Nutrient Dense Super Seeded Oaty Bread, which has 13g of fibre in two slices, are aimed at making it super easy for customers to reach the recommended 30g a day.”

The Nutrient Dense range will be available in M&S Foodhalls from today January 5th 2026 and includes salads, meals, bread and the H₅O shot. The H₅O shot is made with coconut water, a source of naturally occurring electrolytes, blended with cold-pressed ginger juice, fruit and vegetable fibres, sea moss and botanicals including panax ginseng, Japanese honeysuckle, ginger, yellow passionfruit and green cardamom.

The name H₅O refers to the five botanical ingredients, which have been selected and verified by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Each shot contains 4g of fibre from baobab and Jerusalem artichoke and is high in iodine due to the inclusion of sea moss.