Sparking Change: A Sustainable Diets Pilot by Hubbub and Marks & Spencer, Study notes of Business

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The Challenge

Impact report

In collaboration with

Contents

• Introduction
• Significant change
• Approach
• Measuring impact
• Protein from plants
• Cutting food waste
• Cooking from scratch
• Sustainable living beyond the kitchen
• Kids in the kitchen and beyond
• Sparking change for every M&S customer

Approach

Hubbub used a tried-and-tested approach grounded in behaviour change theory to design an engaging digital campaign.

Digital community

A closed Facebook group fostered a sense of community, where participants could try new things together, offer peer- to-peer tips and inspiration, and receive expert advice from Hubbub and M&S teams.

Flexible and accessible

Our format offered flexibility so that participants could take part in activities live or catch up at their convenience.

We shared the benefits

The potential to save money, learn new skills and feel healthier – were highlighted alongside the environmental impact of sustainable diets.

Learn, digest, do!

Learning was reinforced by delivering each theme in two stages. First, we shared expert but simple information using a range of formats from specialist sessions to digital tip sheets. Participants told us that they particularly valued this approach. It gave them the opportunity to learn and digest new information and skills before trying them out and putting things into practice.

Healthy competition

In the second week of each theme, we set a flexible challenge, providing an enjoyable way for participants to put their learning into practice and take part in some healthy competition.

Measuring impact

Who took part?

The participant cohort was made up of 77 M&S customers and 15 M&S colleagues representing a range of demographics, attitudes and understanding on sustainability issues. Participants were selected from England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. M&S colleagues took part in the same way as customers. The customer cohort was made up of 48 households with children, 17 households without children and 12 retired households.

Academic partnership

Our methodology to capture the impact of the pilot has been developed and delivered in partnership with Joanna Trewern, a PhD researcher focused on sustainable diets at the University of Surrey.

Capturing impact

We carried out an in-depth baseline survey with each participant household to explore their shopping, eating, cooking and broader sustainability habits. The survey helped us to understand the cohort’s skills and knowledge as well as their barriers and motivators to make changes. It helped us design a campaign that met most people where they are on sustainability issues.

The pilot was followed by an end of challenge survey to capture an early indication of the changes people had made. This was completed by all 92 participants.

Incentives

We awarded spot prizes to motivate and incentivise participants. M&S provided product hampers for the participants to use in themed ‘cook-alongs’. All participants also received a voucher incentive to sign up and to thank them for their participation.

Twelve weeks on we conducted a survey to discover the changes that people had made and continued with. This was completed by 68 participants (74%). The impact shown in this report is from this in comparison with the baseline survey.

Participant’s stories

We built in opportunities to gather qualitative insight from the cohort throughout the campaign. We also hosted a series of focus groups after the pilot phase to dig deeper into some of the key survey insights.

3

lentils, chickpeas^ Pulses: Beans: kidney beans, baked beans, broad beans,soya beans (tofu)

peas, mushrooms,^ Vegetables: sweetcornbroccoli, kale,

Grains: wheat flour, bread, rice, oatmeal,pasta, quinoa

almonds, walnuts,^ Nuts: hazelnuts, peanuts

Seeds: chia seeds, sunflower seeds

Our guide to more protein from plants Top plant-based protein sources

Top tips for more plant-based eating Combine a variety of plant-based proteins or lentils, wholegrains, and nuts such as peanut butter^ Try combining cereals such as rice and pasta with beans can do this in the same meal, but you don’t have to.on wholemeal toast for complementing proteins. You

We equipped the group with practical information on eating more plant protein and invited participants to a live session with a nutritionist and a plant-based chef cook-along.

We shared easy and appealing plant- based recipes which participants told us helped them to reduce their meat consumption. An M&S nutritionist provided tips to substitute in plant-based proteins such as beans and pulses for meat in popular dishes. Participants told us that simple switches such as oat for dairy milk helped make change easier.

We then challenged participants to cut their meat consumption and eat more vegetables, fruit, pulses, nuts, seeds and wholegrains. 75% of participants opted to reduce their meat consumption rather than going fully plant-based for the challenge. This may suggest that the group saw a reduction in meat as more achievable in the future than going meat free.

When I took on the challenge to halve my meat and dairy I was trying to think about the longer-term. I probably could have cut meat out for a week but then I knew I’d revert straight back to eating the same amount as before.

Megan Price, Sparking Change participant, Widnes

Protein from plants What did we find?

The pilot helped participants to eat less meat and more plant-based food. Three months after the final challenge, most said that they were eating meat just once or twice a week compared to three or four days a week before taking part.

81% said they

knew what makes up

a healthy balanced

diet compared to

26% before.

90% were

eating less meat.

75% of

participants who

reported eating less

meat said they felt

healthier.

were eating

more vegetables,

fruit, pulses,

nuts, seeds and

wholegrains.

34% increase

in people ‘very’ or

‘extremely’ likely to

buy plant-based

meat alternatives.

What did we find?

Celine Islam lives in Hertfordshire with her husband and three children. Before the challenge Celine’s family weren’t big on planning their meals and often shopped when they were hungry.

To start off our challenge, we sorted out our food cupboard and planned meals around what we already had in. We then challenged ourselves to only buy fresh ingredients that we knew we needed. We wasted much less and only spent £25 to feed five for a whole week. This was a huge saving based on what we would normally spend.’

My top tip for anyone looking to reduce their food waste would be to ensure that they freeze leftovers and are creative in finding out how to use them up.

Participant spotlight

Getting creative with leftovers

52% increase

in people ‘very’ or

‘extremely’ confident

in storing food to

make it last longer.

62% increase

in people ‘very’

or ‘extremely’

confident in using

leftovers to create

new meals.

39% saved

money on groceries

• an average of £

per week.

The pilot helped participants change their behaviours to bring their food waste right down. Three months on from the final challenge:

90% were

wasting less food.

Cooking from scratch

We equipped participants to build up their cooking skills and knowledge to prepare more meals from scratch with fresh seasonal ingredients. We invited participants to a scratch cook-along with top chef Chris Baber.

We sent expert tips to help participants sharpen their scratch cooking skills. The group learnt what essential ingredients can be used across a range of home- made meals.

We provided advice to help them prepare dinner in an organised ‘chef-like’ way. We screened videos on kitchen skills (for example knife skills). We gave participants recipes and then they got involved in a scratch cooking challenge.

Families with children took part in a seasonal food art challenge and a virtual tour of an M&S Select Farm who grow all of M&S’s British asparagus.

Some parents were surprised that their children were so open and willing to try new foods.

We didn’t think the kids would go for the cook-along. We thought we’d be making the veggie curry and only the two of us would eat it. But the kids really couldn’t get enough, so it’s opened their eyes to new foods as well.

Ross Turnock, Sparking Change participant, Yorkshire and the Humber

What did we find?

The pilot helped participants to cook more meals from scratch using seasonal ingredients. Three months on, over three quarters of participants said they were cooking from scratch at least five or six days a week.

75% were

eating more food in

season.

73% were

cooking from

scratch more.

90% who cook

from scratch more

reduced their meat

consumption and

96% waste less

food.

80% who

cook from scratch

more said they felt

healthier.

What did we find? Participant spotlight

Gemma Davis lives in Gloucestershire with her two children and husband. She got married during the challenge. Gemma took inspiration to look fabulous, do her bit for the environment and save a few pounds. She found a beautiful wedding dress for free from Facebook Market Place.

After picking up the dress, I hand washed it very carefully in the bath and dried it across two drying racks. I also managed to get a second-hand clothes steamer, so the dress came up a treat.

Wearing a second-hand dress was a great way for me to do my bit for the environment on my wedding day. It saved me a lot of money which I can now spend on a wedding party. I’m even talking to one of the other Sparking Change participants about her daughter’s wedding and whether my perfect dress could be her perfect dress too.

Participants received M&S Eco Friendly Non-Bio Laundry Liquid to try.

The environmentally friendly laundry liquid was amazing. It made good bubbles, smelt amazing. A little went a long way. I would buy this again.

Jodie Dawe, Sparking Change participant, Colwyn Bay

Getting married in

sustainable style!

Simple swaps

94% increase

in people ‘very’ or

‘extremely’ likely to

grow their own food.

73% had a

more sustainable

home.

84% increase

in people ‘very’

or ‘extremely’

likely to buy more

sustainable clothes.

68% increase

in people ‘very’ or

‘extremely’ likely to

buy environmentally

friendly products.

The pilot helped participants to make their homes more sustainable. Three months on, they said they were now more likely to buy environmentally friendly cleaning products, more sustainable clothes and grow their own food.

Kids in the kitchen

and beyond

Families with children at home made up the largest segment of pilot participants. Parents and children learnt together to make healthy and sustainable choices in the kitchen and in all areas of their homes. We saw families spending time together, having fun and taking on challenges.

Before the pilot 69% of participants told us that they enjoy cooking for their family. This was one of their biggest motivations to want to cook from scratch more. But Sparking Change wasn’t just about parents enjoying cooking for their families more. It was also about getting the whole family cooking and eating together.

After the challenge period, 76% of participants with children told us that their children are more likely to get involved in cooking.

We provided families with all the information they needed to help them make healthy choices for them and their children. We invited participants to an expert session with an M&S nutritionist and sent them a digital tips sheet covering what a healthy more plant- based diet looks like. 69% of participants whose children eat meat told us that their children now eat less.

Children and their parents got involved in cook-alongs with chefs, grew herbs and salad and enjoyed getting a product hamper to try out.

Receiving the hamper with lots of products to try helped get my children excited about the chef cook-along.

Hazel Dixon, Sparking Change participant, London

Sparking change for

every M&S customer

Sustainability is something that we know our customers care deeply about and using the encouraging results and insights garnered from this collaboration with Hubbub we have created Sparking Change: The National Challenge. Launching in January and spanning two months, we’re helping our 13.5 million Sparks customers to eat and live more sustainably one small change at a time.

Kicking off with Protein from Plants, participants will be provided with recipes, tips and inspiration to help double the quantity of plants in their diet whilst eating less and better meat and dairy. Then, it’s all about More Taste, Less Waste, with a series of tools available to help those embracing the Challenge reduce their food waste and weekly shopping bill.

To find out more and join the Challenge please visit Sparking Change: The National Challenge.

At M&S we want to make sustainability easier and more rewarding for our customers. As part of our Plan A approach to becoming a fully net zero business by 2040, we are investing in new products and services to help and inspire customers to Spark Change and enjoy lower carbon lives.