M&S has also been able to bring in new food developments to avoid some of the usual supermarket sandwich pitfalls.
Its specially grown tomatoes, for example, have been in the works for years. They have less moisture than regular tomatoes so that they do not seep into sandwiches and make them soggy.
To create its sushi, Greencore installed state-of-the-art Japanese machinery at the site. M&S is expected to revamp its sushi lines over the next year.
“Basically, what we have is a differentiated capability and we’re able to do this in a way which is zero capex from a shareholder point of view,” Freudmann says.
“We’re getting the benefits of the quality and the investments, but we’re able to devote our capital to where we would want to spend it.”
This has been in areas such as making its food halls better, which has been pinpointed as a significant focus for the retailer.
Marks & Spencer is in the middle of a drive to spend £480m on upgrading its stores, with plans to have 180 larger stores stocking food, clothing and homeware, and 420 food stores by early 2026. This compares to its 247 full-line stores and 320 food stores early last year.
Yet bosses maintain there is still work to be done on what it is stocking in shops. This year M&S will be “upgrading” 1,000 of its best-selling products, out of around 5,000 lines which it sells around the food stores. It follows an upgrade to 1,000 products last year.