Following our wider rebrand work, M&S asked us to rethink its café experience for a younger, more food-savvy audience. It needed to feel like a destination in its own right – somewhere that could compete with standalone cafés while still feeling unmistakably M&S. The ambition was simple: make it as foodie as the Foodhall, with great coffee and a space customers would want to spend more time in.
Setting a clear North Star
We established a distinctive position: “All the magic of the Foodhall, with the warmth and love of your favourite local.” This became the North Star for every decision, from the environment to the customer experience.
Looking beyond retail cafés
Rather than following supermarket café conventions, we looked to independent hospitality venues for inspiration, focusing on the atmosphere, service and presentation that make people want to stay.
Evolving the M&S DNA
We kept enough of the familiar M&S DNA while introducing fresh elements that signalled a new chapter, evolving the brand experience without losing the equity customers already knew and loved.
A feast for the eyes
We created a bold visual identity that felt more boutique hospitality than supermarket café. A food-inspired colour palette and rustic textures brought warmth, craft and quality to every touchpoint, supported by playful typographic stamps, stickers and bold price points.
Photography good enough to eat
Our photography approach was built around three principles – ‘Salivate’, ‘Curate’ and ‘Educate’ – creating distinctive imagery that tantalised, showcased the food and helped customers discover more.
A fresh twist on M&S
We seasoned the familiar M&S tone of voice with a little more playfulness, bringing extra warmth and personality while keeping the character customers already knew and loved.
The reimagined M&S Café is now a destination in its own right, bringing together the ease of a retail café with the experience of standalone café culture. Designed to attract new customers while still feeling familiar to loyal M&S shoppers, it’s become more than somewhere to refuel mid-shop – it’s Destination Delicious.
M&S Café
Destination delicious
Sharry Cramond
Marketing Director, M&S Food and Masterbrand and Director of Loyalty, M&S
"Whippet presented a powerful vision for M&S Café. They stayed true to it at every point of the journey, and the final outcome was everything we had hoped for and set out to achieve."