Meet Abbie Smallwood: The Innovator Behind M&S' Outrageously Chocolatey Custard Creams
Abbie Smallwood isn't just a Product Developer at M&S; she's the creative mind behind our latest sensation—the Outrageously Chocolatey Custard Creams. This innovative (and delicious!) biscuit swiftly became M&S' top-selling line just two weeks post-launch.
Abbie's journey into the world of food began with a stint at an award-winning restaurant in Kent. Abbie joined us as a Customer Assistant at our Guildford store, whilst completing a degree in nutrition before moving into the Product Development team. Over the last 4 years, Abbie has been tasked with developing much-loved M&S products for shoppers across the country, including the iconic projecting biscuit tin that launched last Christmas.
Christmas is Abbie’s favourite range to develop each year, but she really enjoyed working on the new and exciting biscuit range that launched in September. The stand-out products for her were the Outrageously Chocolatey Custard Creams and the new chocolate wafer range made in Italy. These were inspired through her absolute love of chocolate and wanting to do something new and exciting within the biscuit category.
Regarding the newly launched Outrageously Chocolatey Custard Creams, Abbie says, “Biscuits are an often overlooked, very traditional category that doesn’t get customers very excited. I wanted to change that completely by launching first to market biscuits that no one has seen before. Our ‘more chocolate than biscuit’ range is totally loved by customers, and so are traditional biscuits such as custard and bourbon creams, so I wanted to join these two areas to do something completely different! The new Outrageously Chocolatey Custard Cream is already a big customer favourite, which we know is going to grow even further over Christmas time. I love dunking mine in hot chocolate, and it really has become a biscuit tin staple with my family!”
ITV documentary, Inside M&S, returned this year with a three-part series showing viewers the magic behind M&S products. The series will meet game-changing Product Developers – like Abbie – passionate store colleagues, key suppliers and happy customers – all working together to being the magic of M&S to life at Christmas time.
Learn more about a creative career in Food with us here.
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