When the 4th Earl of Sandwich (apocryphally) invented the sarnie some 260 years ago he wasn’t thinking of a couple of bits of brioche with an apple crumble filling.
The story goes that the keen gambler asked for some beef between slices of bread so he could continue playing cards while eating – a request that led to a rapid take-up of the ‘sandwich’ in Georgian England.
And, for hundreds of years since then, Brits were content with the sandwich being a savoury dish. Sure, there may have been the occasional dalliance with a banana and sugar sarnie or a jam sandwich, but for the most part consumers kept their sandwiches and their sweet treats well apart.
This is no longer the case.
Summer 2025 brought the viral sensation that was the strawberry and cream sandwich from M&S – Red Diamond strawberries with light whipped cream cheese on fluffy sweetened bread. And the retailer wasn’t alone, with Subway pushing out a limited-edition Strawberries & Cream Sub at around the same time.
The launches were inspired, in part at least, by the Japanese sweet sandwiches such as the fruit sando that is typically made by sandwiching fruit and whipped cream between slices of white bread. A luxury good in the 1920s, the fruit sando became more popular in Japan in the 1960s and is now known across the globe.
While the M&S sandwich generated plenty of headlines, it was no flash-in-the-pan marketing gimmick. M&S reports selling more than a million strawberry and cream sarnies in just five weeks, and when it brought back the sandwich this summer it was accompanied by a Chocolate, Strawberry & Pistachio Creme Sandwich.
The appeal of the M&S strawberries and cream sandwich comes from the coherence of the idea, suggests product development expert Deirdre Walters, founding partner of agency Untapped Innovation.
“Strawberries, cream and soft layers already have strong associations with summer and cake. Bringing those elements into food-to-go gives consumers access to a familiar pleasure during a different occasion,” she says. “The chocolate, strawberry and pistachio version extends the indulgence through another recognisable combination.”
Of course, M&S is not the only supermarket to have embraced the sweet sandwich trend.
A few months after the original M&S strawberry and creme sarnie came the Tesco Birthday Cake Sandwich – strawberry jam and a cream cheese filling between two slices of soft, brioche-style bread (see main image above). Finished with rainbow sprinkles, the creation prompted one bakery MD to declare on LinkedIn: “Is this what food NPD has come to? Is it now about retailers and food businesses creating unwanted and bizarre combinations to just get clicks and exposure on social media?”
Nonetheless, Tesco reports that the Birthday Cake Sandwich, which was created to celebrate 30 years of Clubcard, sold out across the 1,000 Tesco stores where it was available.
“We were really encouraged by the response,” says a spokesperson for the retailer. “It shows there’s an appetite for unexpected, limited-edition products that get people talking.”
Tesco is among the retailers who are bringing a little seasonal sweetness to their Christmas sandwich line-up this year in the shape of the Turkey Pastrami Panettone Style Roll – a glazed, panettone-style roll with slices of turkey pastrami, creamy Emmental and pickled red slaw.
“Panettone brings a new, seasonal association and an element of sweetness, opening a development space around the balance between festive indulgence and everyday lunch,” says Walters. “For consumers who want something more interesting than their usual lunch while retaining a recognisable, trustworthy savoury filling, this offers a potentially very approachable step.”
Sainsbury’s is taking things a step further with the launch of the Apple Crumble Christmas Sandwich at the end of this month. The retailer’s creation is soft brioche bread filled with fresh green apple slices and compote, crème fraîche, soft cheese, salted mcaramel sauce, and crunchy granola crumble.
Walters points out that the development opportunity comes from making the associations of a familiar pudding available in a portable treat, at the right time of year.
“The challenge is to preserve what people enjoy about apple crumble when the temperature, texture and eating occasion have changed,” she says, adding that when it comes to development of sweet sandwiches, technical decisions should be guided by an understanding of the intended experience.
“Developers need to create a product model that specifies which familiar qualities create reassurance, where a new ingredient adds surprise and what could make the experience disappointing after the initial curiosity has passed.”
Walters goes on to explain that commercial performance will depend on how well each product delivers against those specifications.
“Media attention can encourage trial, but repeat purchase requires an enjoyable experience people want to have again.”
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