David Saunders
January always brings two things: bold promises and a fridge full of good intentions. And into that annual theatre of self-improvement comes M&S Food with its Health Trends Report 2026 — a confident little roadmap of health trends it believes will shape how Britain eats this year, plus a nudge to make “simple swaps” without living like a monk.
For the third year running, M&S Food is publishing its top five health and wellness trends, while also launching the M&S Food Health Trends Report 2026, to help customers make healthier choices. It’s positioning itself as a steady hand on the trolley handle: not preachy, not faddy — just quietly insisting it’s been doing the hard graft on ingredients for years.
With Eat Well — its health “seal of approval” — recently turning 21, M&S is keen to underline that it’s been making “health firsts” long before TikTok decided fibre was sexy. And it’s got receipts: “Take MSG for example – did you know that we banned all MSG from our food back in 2008 and aspartame in 2007?”
So what’s on the list for 2026? Here are the five health trends M&S says are heating up — plus the product moves it’s making to cash in on them and, ideally, help you feel better while you’re at it.
1) Fibremaxxing: carbs are back, and they’ve brought fibre with them
The “No carbs before Marbs” mindset is being marched off the premises. In its place: fibremaxxing — the idea of increasing fibre by leaning harder into wholefoods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, pulses and grains.
M&S says a striking 96% of us aren’t getting enough fibre, and it wants customers edging closer to the recommended 30g per day — sensibly, and without throwing your gut into open revolt.
M&S Senior Nutritionist Louisa Brunt puts the problem plainly: “Currently only 4% of us are reaching the Government recommended fibre target of 30g fibre per day, with the average UK consumption at just 16g. It is crucial to include adequate fibre in our diets to reduce the risk of diseases such Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and bowel cancer – as well as supporting our gut health.
“It’s important to add fibre-rich foods gradually, to avoid feeling uncomfortable, but we think the good news about fibre is that it’s all about adding more of the good stuff to meals, rather than focusing on restriction or cutting things out – and we have created some fantastic products to help everyone do that in delicious ways. Most of us don’t eat enough fruit, vegetables or grains – but we are aiming to change that.”
There’s also a timely footnote to this health trends push: fibre is being framed as especially important for the 3–4% of the UK currently on GLP-1 weight loss injections such as Mounjaro, where constipation and malnutrition have been cited as side effects.
2) Nutrient Dense: more nutrition per calorie (and less guesswork)
To support the fibre-first message, M&S Food is launching Nutrient Dense — a new range of salads, snacks and meals “packed with fibre, vitamins and minerals”. The criteria is developed by M&S in-house chefs and nutritionists in consultation with the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) and Eat Well, with an emphasis on “nutrients per calorie”.
M&S Head of Food Innovation, Annette Peters, says, “The Nutrient Dense range is so exciting and is also incredibly useful for anyone trying to hit their nutritional targets. It is also great if customers are reducing their food intake, such as people using weight loss injections. We have challenged ourselves to make products that are denser in nutrients than calories, so every single mouthful is packed full of more of the nutrients we all need.”
Two headline examples:
- Nutrient-Dense Super-Seeded Oaty Bread = 13g of fibre in two slices. £1.80 (300g)
- Nutrient Dense H₅O shot £2 (100ml)
The H₅O shot is made with coconut water and cold-pressed ginger juice, fruit and vegetable fibres, sea moss and botanicals — panax ginseng, Japanese honeysuckle, yellow passionfruit, ginger and green cardamom. M&S says it’s called H₅O because of five botanical ingredients selected and verified by scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and it includes 4g of fibre from baobab and Jerusalem artichoke, plus iodine from sea moss.
In the world of health trends, this is the classic 2026 play: functional, portable, and engineered to feel like progress.
3) Biohacking: small tweaks, big convenience
“Biohacking” can mean anything from meal prepping to intermittent fasting, but M&S is pitching it as small dietary changes that support wellbeing — made easy for people who don’t have time to treat nutrition like a second job.
Head of Product Claire Richardson says: “Our customers are also telling us that healthy eating should feel good, not hard, so with these new ranges, it couldn’t be easier to hack your health. We hope they are going to love our new one-stop shop of biohacking shots and snacks, featuring the latest on-trend, functional ingredients, from collagen to sea moss.”
The picks M&S highlights include:
- Cold Pressed Collagen Shot — £2.00 (100ml)
Cold-pressed cucumber, aloe vera and dragon fruit with bovine collagen peptides, hyaluronic acid and added vitamins and zinc. Eat Well. - Collagen Ball — £1.75 (40g)
Mango, passionfruit and almond ball with mango & apple filling, coated in desiccated coconut. High in zinc and a source of vitamin C. Eat Well. - Cold Pressed Sea Moss Shot — £2.00 (100ml)
Having amassed more than 1.3billion TikTok views, sea moss is certainly having a moment. We have sourced the very best sea moss from the cold Atlantic off the coast of Ireland. It is high in iodine which many people in the UK lack in their diet. This shot has coconut water, sea moss, lime, ginger, lemon, and apple
If fibremaxxing is the sensible grown-up of the health trends family, biohacking is the flashy cousin with a gym membership and a standing desk.
4) High protein: mainstream, not macho
Protein is no longer the private language of gym floor obsessives. M&S is leaning into a broader view: protein as a tool for satiety and muscle maintenance at all ages, plus a practical swap for people trying to reduce mindless snacking.
Annette Peters frames it like this: “We understand now, more than ever, that we have agency over our health and food has power – and that means we can control our ageing through diet and exercise. Older people understand they need to eat protein to maintain muscle mass and prevent muscle atrophy.”
M&S adds that Ocado searches for ‘High Protein’ are up more than threefold compared with this time last year, and its own research says over 70% of customers are aware of a high protein diet, with more than a quarter actively seeking high protein choices.
Two examples from the range:
- High Protein Shot — £2.00 (100ml)
This chocolate-flavoured milk shot is packed with 10g of protein and only 63 kcals and is also a source of magnesium. - High Protein Strawberry Matcha Overnight Oats — £3.00 (200g)
Trendy matcha overnight oats topped with a strawberry high-protein yoghurt.
20g protein per pot.
Among 2026’s health trends, high protein is the one that keeps showing up because it’s easy to understand and even easier to buy.
5) Gut health: the inside job that won’t go away
Gut health remains a heavyweight — and M&S says it’s only growing as we learn more about how the gut may influence skin, brain and mood.
In M&S’s recent survey, 63% were aware of gut health as a trend and over a quarter are actively looking for ways to support it. The retailer says Ocado searches for ‘Good Gut’ are up more than 400% since this time last year, and it’s rolling out 16 new or upgraded products.
The key new element is its TriMarks™ Blend, added to flavoured kefir yoghurts, drinks and shots:
The TriMarks™ Blend
M&S TriMarks is a unique blend, specifically formulated to combine fibre, live cultures, and Plenibiotic to support gut health, helping you thrive from the inside out.
The TriMarks™ blend can be found in all its flavoured kefir yoghurts, drinks and shots, to make supporting your gut health as easy as it is delicious.
Two highlighted products:
- Good Gut Honey & Ginger Kefir Drink — £2.90 (500ml)
Honey & ginger kefir drink made with our unique TriMarks™ blend. Packed with billions of live cultures and a source of calcium and protein. Eat Well. - Good Gut Gut Shot multipack — £10.00 for 6 (6X150ml)
New and improved these shots have our unique to M&S TriMarks ™ blend and are made with more than 5 billion cultures from 14 different strains. Eat Well.
In the ever-churning sea of health trends, gut health is the one that’s managed to stay afloat — partly because it’s become less abstract and more routine.
Minimal ingredients: the quiet trend that shoppers keep asking for
M&S also points to a growing appetite for “minimal ingredients” and recognisable food — citing Innova Market Insights (2025) that about half of consumers surveyed say they’re looking for foods with “minimal ingredients” and “recognisable, natural ingredients”.
M&S Product Development Director Kathryn Turner says, “Imagine you were making your favourite supermarket basics at home, with ingredients you know and trust.”
“That’s what we have done with our successful Only Ingredients range, and our customers love it so much that we have extended it and will continue to do so. We are bringing new versions of more everyday products to customers and their families, made with minimal ingredients and with the quality expected from M&S Food.
“From our new Tomato Ketchup to Olive Oil Mayonnaise, Meatballs, Sliced White Toasting Bread and Bran Flakes, we have been working incredibly hard to pare the ingredients right back but keep the delicious, familiar flavours.
“And watch this space for more! We have plans for fish fingers, baked beans, biscuits and more. The products so many people use on a regular basis, but a more stripped-back version than they might be eating.”
Examples include:
- Only Ingredients Olive Oil Mayonnaise — £4.50 (250ml)
Only 6 ingredients: olive oil, mayonnaise
Olive Oil, Egg Yolk, White Wine Vinegar, Water, Sea Salt, Dried Mustard - Only Ingredients Bran Flakes — £2.50 (300g)
Made with only 3 ingredients – wholegrain wheat, barley malt extract, sea salt.
The closing pitch (and the January reality check)
M&S’s parting message is simple: whatever you’re trying to do this January — “simple healthy swaps”, better lunches, more fruit and veg, healthier packed lunches, or fuelling a Hyrox or marathon — it wants to be the place you do it.
And yes, it can’t resist the flourish: “Because this is not just food…. this is quality M&S delicious and nutritious food.”
That happens to be healthy. And good for you.
It’s a win-win.
All products are available at your local Foodhall, and you can even check availability online using our Digital Food Catalogue online. You can also shop on Ocado.
