M&S and Around Noon: A Winning Partnership Bringing Festive Sandwich Magic to Christmas 2024

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is proud to celebrate its partnership with locally-based Around Noon, the award-winning food-to-go producer based in Newry. 

Together, they’ve unveiled this year’s eagerly-anticipated M&S Christmas sandwich range, ready to delight their customers.

Using only the finest locally sourced ingredients, the Around Noon team's crafted a range of exciting flavours that capture the essence of Christmas in every single bite. 

Key to this year’s magic are Marian Myles, M&S Product Developer for Ireland and Northern Ireland, and Tori Laverty, Around Noon’s New Product Development Manager, whose creativity and passion have shaped every sandwich in the range.

From perfecting the balance of turkey and stuffing to creating standout flavours like the new and indulgent Yule Spiced Beef sandwich, every detail of the range has been meticulously designed.

Around Noon supplies hundreds of thousands of sandwiches to all 38 M&S stores across the island of Ireland, as well as to 21 M&S Applegreen franchise sites.

Speaking about her role, Marian said: "Designing the Christmas range is a dream job – it’s all about channelling the joy and comfort of the season into something you can taste. Seeing our ideas come to life on M&S shelves is incredibly rewarding."

Tori added: "Christmas is such a special time, and our sandwiches are a part of so many festive moments. We put our hearts into making sure every detail is just right – from the flavours to the presentation."

The M&S and Around Noon partnership highlights M&S’s commitment to supporting local suppliers while delivering exceptional quality and innovation for customers. Each Christmas, Around Noon produces tens of thousands of sandwiches to meet festive demand, showcasing Northern Ireland’s expertise on a national stage.

In true festive spirit, the Around Noon team is not just focusing on 2024 but is already hard at work developing the 2025 Christmas sandwich range. This forward-thinking approach ensures that M&S stays at the forefront of festive food innovation, offering customers new and exciting choices year after year.

Speaking about the partnership, Laura Harper, M&S Trading Director for Ireland and Northern Ireland said: “Our collaboration with Around Noon is a shining example of the magic that happens when local expertise meets M&S quality, innovation, and taste. The team’s creativity and dedication are second to none, and we’re thrilled to bring their incredible sandwiches to our customers this Christmas, offering exceptional value and delicious food-on-the-move."

Philip Morgan, Sales Director at Around Noon added: "We’re delighted to partner with M&S to deliver this year’s Christmas sandwich range. Our team has worked round the clock to create something truly special for 2024, and we’re already full of festive cheer as we develop exciting new flavours for 2025.”

The 2024 Christmas range is available now in M&S stores nationwide and features something for everyone:

Turkey Feast: An iconic classic, it is filled with Irish turkey, smoked bacon and a sage and onion stuffing, complimented with a caramelised onion mayo and cranberry sauce, bringing holiday cheer to your taste buds.

All Wrapped Up: Is a new addition this year and captures the essence of the season, it is loaded with Irish turkey, Irish ham, sage and onion stuffing and spinach, and complimented with caramelised onion mayo, and cranberry sauce ‘all wrapped up’.

Brie & Cranberry: A tasty vegetarian favourite returning from 2022, with slices of French Brie paired with Cranberry sauce and spinach, it is sure to be a cheese lovers’ favourite.

Yule Spiced Beef Sandwich: Is a modern twist on tradition, bringing together Irish spiced beef and Irish mature cheddar, with sauerkraut, gherkins, and mustard mayo on a delicious pretzel roll.

All are sure to get you in Christmas the spirit with your favourite festive flavours. These festive offerings are sure to bring joy to every bite and get you in the Christmas spirit with their seasonal flavours.

Hungry Marks and Spencer customers in the rest of the UK should look out for their own local festive sandwich offerings.

M&SD will recruit in excess of 11,000 Christmas colleagues

Marks & Spencer has announced it will be recruiting in excess of 11,000 new Customer Assistants to offer help and support in stores across the UK over the festive period. 

The retailer is recruiting even more colleagues than last year with over 1,000 more vacancies available, reflecting the additional investment M&S is making in colleague hours to deliver exceptional customer service.  

A Customer Assistant at M&S is the face of the business and responsible for delivering a seamless shopping experience for customers, however and whenever they choose to shop.  

From serving customers on the shop floor and at service points, ensuring the shelves and rails are always stocked with exceptional product, to engaging with customers to understand their needs and make recommendations; a Customer Assistant role is varied and wide-ranging.   

Christmas colleagues also play an integral role in delivering M&S’ Christmas Food to Order service, which launched this year on 24th September, ensuring millions of customers get their all-important festival essentials and treats on time.  

The recruitment window opened on 9th October and new colleagues will join M&S from mid November - with a range of start dates, variety of roles and flexible working patterns available. To apply, candidates can visit the M&S careers page and complete an application, before being invited to either a 1-2-1 interview or group assessment. 

M&S Support Centre colleagues continue to spend seven days in store each year to help store colleagues, with four of those completed in the lead up to Christmas. Last year, Support Centre colleagues spent 103,000 hours helping M&S stores and customers over the festive period. 

Sacha Berendji, Operations Director at M&S, said: “Our fantastic store colleagues play such a big part in delivering the magic of M&S at Christmas to our customers. And this year we’re recruiting even more colleagues to ensure we’re closer to customers. 

“The Christmas period is a busy but exciting time for M&S and no two days are the same – in fact, many colleagues started their M&S careers at Christmas and after the festive period were invited to go onto our Stepping Into Team Manager programme. With a range of roles and flexible working patterns available, anyone who is interested in being part of something special this Christmas should visit our careers website to apply.” 

The Customer Service Assistant roles will span both Foods and Clothing & Home and are located all over the UK, with vacancies in every store. 

To learn more about working with M&S please click on this link https://shorturl.at/0SOw1

M&S launches festive recruitment drive to fill over 11,000 Christmas jobs

Marks & Spencer has announced it's recruiting in excess of 11,000 new Customer Assistants to support in stores all over the UK over the festive period. 

The retailer is recruiting even more colleagues than last year with over 1000 more vacancies available, reflecting the additional investment M&S is making in colleague hours to deliver exceptional customer service.  

A Customer Assistant at M&S is the first face of the business and is responsible for delivering a seamless shopping experience for customers, however and whenever they choose to shop.  

From serving customers on the shop floor and at service points, ensuring the shelves and rails are always stocked with exceptional products, to engaging with customers to understand their needs and make recommendations; a Customer Assistant role is varied and wide-ranging.   

Christmas colleagues will also play an integral role in delivering M&S’ Christmas Food to Order service, which launched this year on 24th September, ensuring millions of customers get their all-important festival essentials and treats on time.  

New colleagues will join M&S from mid November - with a range of start dates, variety of roles and flexible working patterns available. To apply, candidates can visit the M&S careers page and complete an application, before being invited to either a 1-2-1 interview or group assessment. 

M&S Support Centre colleagues continue to spend seven days in store each year to help store colleagues, with four of those completed in the lead up to Christmas. Last year, Support Centre colleagues spent 103,000 hours helping M&S stores and customers over the festive period. 

Sacha Berendji, who is the Operations Director at M&S, said: “Our fantastic store colleagues play such a big part in delivering the magic of M&S at Christmas to our customers. And this year we’re recruiting even more colleagues to ensure we’re closer to customers. 

“The Christmas period is a busy but exciting time for M&S and no two days are the same – in fact, many colleagues started their M&S careers at Christmas and after the festive period were invited to go onto our Stepping Into Team Manager programme. With a range of roles and flexible working patterns available, anyone who is interested in being part of something special this Christmas should visit our careers website to apply.” 

The Customer Service Assistant roles will span both Foods and Clothing & Home and are located all over the UK, with vacancies in every store. 

Doubtless my wife and I will be seeing some of the new M&S Christmas colleagues when we visit our local M&S branches!

https://www.marksandspencer.com

12 days of M&S: Over six million doors opened in nations biggest digital advent calendar

Over six million digital doors were opened on the M&S app in just five days.

Hundreds of thousands of new customers have downloaded the app, pushing it to number one in the app store over the first weekend.

Over half a million free gifts and savings were redeemed– with over 10 million still up for grabs in the remaining week, including Christmas light up Liqueurs and bottles of Prosecco.

 In just the first five days, more than six million doors were opened since ’12 Days of M&S’, the retailer’s popular digital advent calendar, launched on 1 December.

Previously known as ‘12 Days of Sparks’, the digital advent calendar returned this month for its third year, bigger and better than ever before, pushing the M&S app to number 1 in the app store over the first  weekend, as hundreds of thousands rushed to download the app.

In the first five days, over half a million customers redeemed their free gifts or festive offers which included everything from Christmas decorations, pyjamas, slippers to chocolates and boxes of biscuits.

Over 10 million other free gifts were also available, sincluding the hugely popular Christmas light up Liqueurs and bottles of Prosecco, plus a special saving on Christmas Jumpers, just in time for the big day.

Customers who opened all 12 doors, were automatically be entered into the draw for the chance to win a magical M&S Christmas with a £10k M&S Gift Card, plus thousands of other prizes up for grabs, too.

Sharry Cramond, Director of M&S Food Marketing and M&S Loyalty said: “We wanted to make 12 Days of M&S bigger, better and more festive than ever before and the response was absolutely incredible, with hundreds of thousands of customers picking up their free gifts from stores and making savings using their festive offers."

M&S launches recruitment drive to fill 10,000 Christmas roles

Marks & Spencer has announced that is to recruit 10,000 new Customer Assistants to support in its stores over the Christmas period.

The number of vacancies is a more than 40% increase on last year and reflects the additional investment M&S is making in colleague hours to support customers on the shop floor.

A Customer Assistant at M&S is the face of the business and is responsible for delivering a great shopping experience for customers and championing and promoting products. From serving customers on the shop floor and at service points, ensuring shelves and rails are always stocked with product to engaging with customers to understand their needs and make recommendations; a Customer Assistant role is varied and wide-ranging.  

Christmas colleagues also play in integral role in delivering M&S’ Christmas Food to Order service, ensuring millions of customers get their all-important festival essentials and treats on time.

The new colleagues will join M&S from 19th November onwards, with a range of start dates, variety of roles and flexible working patterns available. Colleagues will also enjoy a range of benefits, including 20% colleague discount from the day they start working for M&S.

Sacha Berendji, who is Operations Director at M&S, said: “Our fantastic store colleagues play such a big part in delivering the magic of M&S at Christmas to all our customers. And this year we’re recruiting even more colleagues to ensure there’s always someone on hand to offer support and recommendations.

“The Christmas period is a busy but exciting time for M&S and no two days are the same, in fact, many colleagues who began their M&S careers at Christmas and have since gone onto progress across our business. With a range of roles and flexible working patterns available, anyone who's interested in being part of something special this Christmas should visit our careers website to apply.”

The Customer Service Assistant roles will span both Foods and Clothing & Home and are located all over the UK, with vacancies in every store.

To apply, you can visit https://jobs.marksandspencer.com/christmas where roles are now live and new vacancies being added all the time.