M&S has unveiled a range of nutrient dense meals and products, including super seeded bread and crackers, to help consumers meet their health goals.
The retailer said the Nutrient Dense range – comprising salads, meals, and snacks – was developed with the help of nutritionists to make it easier for consumers to meet their recommended daily intake of fibre, vitamins and minerals even if they are monitoring their calorie intake due to lifestyle, age or weight loss medication.
As such, each product contains at least one of 10 micronutrients such as vitamin D, iron, folate, and vitamin B12 that many people are lacking in the diet.
There are two bakery items in the range – a Super Seeded Oaty Sliced Bread and Super Seeded Crackers.
Described as ‘flavour-packed’, the bread is made with a mix of seeds and oats. The full ingredients list is water, oats (30%), linseed (11%), sunflower seeds (11%), pumpkin seeds (6%), apple cider vinegar, psyllium husks, oat flakes, and salt.
The oven-baked crackers, meanwhile, are made up of over 90% seeds (including sesame, sunflower, and linseeds) as well as a sprinkle of salt and psyllium husk powder. They boast 3.3g of fibre and 4.6g of protein per three crackers (18g) as well as 15% of the recommended intake of magnesium.
The new M&S Nutrient Dense meals are clearly signposted with grams of fibre listed on pack, are calorie controlled, and feature the Eat Well flower logo, which the retailer said makes it easy for customers to make healthy choices. The range was developed with a ‘Nutrient Dense nutrition criteria’ which was made in consultation with the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF).
Other items in the 20-strong range include Romesco Chicken, Prawn Paella, Roasted Butternut & Almond Grains, and Cocoa Chia Mousse.
“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,” said M&S head of food nutrition Grace Ricotti. “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.”
She added that the “importance of us all eating enough fibre cannot be overestimated”. NPD developers are increasingly looking to up the amount of fibre in bakery products, as research from ingredient distributor and supply chain specialist ACI Group found that fibre claims marginally outpaced protein claims on-pack for new products launched between January 2021 and April 2025. More recently, there has even been an online trend of ‘fibremaxxing’. Driven by TikTok and Instagram, it encourages people to intentionally increase their daily fibre intake by adding fibre-rich foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds to their meals.
“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,” Ricotti added.
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