M&S makes shock change to bourbons & custard creams – biscuit fans all say it tastes just like another classic choc bar
M&S has made a shock change to its bourbons and custard creams biscuits, with fans saying the new versions taste like another classic chocolate bar.
The high street retail giant revealed the new range from the M&S Food brand, prompting people to pile in with reviews on social media.
The new Marks & Spencer offerings include savoury snacks as well as sweet.
Yet the ones appearing to get the most responses are the custard creams and milk chocolate-coated bourbon-style biscuits.
The company has deliberately fashioned their new treats on long-established “customer favourites”, it acknowledges.
The latest products have names such as Outrageously Chocolatey Chocolate-Coated Custard Creams and Outrageously Chocolatey Chocolate-Coated Bourbons, both priced at £2.50 per pack.
M&S described those varieties as “more chocolate than biscuit, making them even more decadent”.
Yet they have prompted comparisons to another popular chocolate range – Tim Tams, first put on sale in 1964 by Australian firm Arnott’s.
Comments on the official M&S Instagram channel in reply to the new arrivals include “These are insanely good” and “You have absolutely knocked it out of the park”.
Another fan posted: “These are like TimTams on steroids!”
University of Oxford historian Dr Francis Young said: “The words ‘historic’ and ‘breakthrough’ get bandied about a lot, but in the case of chocolate-covered custard creams we could be looking at something that genuinely changes the world for the better.”
And writer Anna Tuckett posted on X, formerly Twitter: “The rumours were true, this is an improvement on standard custard creams.”
More new M&S products on offer include wafer biscuits in six different flavours including creamy chocolate, smooth cappuccino and zesty sweet lemon.
One shopper wrote on Instagram, “I bought a bag at 11am and they’re already gone”, while another remarked: “The main problem with these is that I’d stuff the whole lot in my mouth pretty much in one go.”
Abbie Smallwood, M&S Food product developer for biscuits, said: “We love coming up with fun twists on our customers’ favourite treats and it’s safe to say that these new teatime essentials really take the biscuit.
“It’s great to see how popular they’ve been already – for example, our Outrageously Chocolatey chocolate-coated custard creams have already shot up the charts to become the most-bought biscuits these past few weeks.
“I love biting the end off mine so I can dunk them in my tea – pure heaven.”
The latest praise comes after M&S was also hailed for a Peppa Pig addition to the company’s new Christmas range.
The firm has also created a dupe for a much-admired dress worn by the Princess of Wales.
Yet fans have been fuming over the closure of an M&S branch in Swindon, Wiltshire.