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00:01a war has broken out in the supermarket aisles there's been a revolution in where we shop a
00:09German revolution in a basket blitz Aldi has transformed itself from obscure newcomer to
00:16major player with sales of almost 18 billion pounds two-thirds of us now shop in Aldi which
00:24means that many of us have moved from one supermarket into Aldi and it's not just Tesco
00:30Sainsbury's Morrison's and Asda under attack the German giant has its sights set on the most bougie
00:37of Britain's food boutiques M&S that treasured trader of treats has been soaring in recent years
00:47with food sales reaching nine billion pounds with both retailers at the top of their game it's a
00:55bruising battle it's a rivalry so fast it even ended up in the High Court twice a former insider
01:05at the heart of Aldi reveals how it took the war to M&S it would take particular focus at
01:11M&S
01:12because we knew that M&S were the most innovative from battering them on price to copying M&S's most
01:20iconic products people grew up with Colin the caterpillar so when Aldi came after it it was
01:26going to be big Aldi's tactics have seen its sales rocket by more than 200% in the last 10
01:33years but
01:34M&S is now going after Aldi targeting its bargain loving customers and setting up camp right next
01:42door my local M&S food hall is right across the road from an Aldi and an awful lot of
01:49customers you
01:49can see them go from one to the other in this battle of the brands this is not just a
01:57rivalry
01:58this is an M&S versus Aldi rivalry in the last 20 years the 190 billion pounds supermarket industry
02:13has turned upside down Aldi's sales have tripled in a decade to become our fourth biggest grocer
02:21while Asda and Morrisons are left licking their wounds the past masters of posh M&S saw food
02:28sales rockets by almost 60% putting a big target on its back and our first battleground is a total
02:37bun
02:38fight now he may look harmless but this little fella caused a war first in the aisles and then in
02:48the
02:48courts but how exactly did a cute little chocolate cake become the emblem for ferocious rivalry we
02:58spend almost 4 billion pounds a year on cakes and baked treats which has made it territory worth feuding
03:05over to understand why M&S and Aldi came to blows it helps to understand Aldi's revolutionary business
03:13model who better to explain than someone who spent over 30 years as their buying director and it all
03:21starts with the power of the brands in the 80s before the discounters came the brands were pumping
03:30money into retailers for promotions for marketing for putting their brands at the front of the stores
03:37and we all grew up therefore just knowing those brand names we were told that coca-cola was the real
03:46thing and that beans means Heinz but Aldi exploded into the national consciousness by doing something
03:55that no other supermarket dared to do it made own brand products that bought a striking resemblance to the big
04:03name brands I mean can you tell where Aldi got their inspiration from look at these same color same feel
04:14these two
04:15were right next to each other on the shelf but the Aldi one is 25% cheaper this tactic allowed
04:24Aldi to cash in on the
04:26cashier of the brands but at much lower prices and far from being coy about its copycat tactics
04:35Aldi sang it from the rooftops in not so subtle ads I buy this tea for my husband he likes
04:43tea he also likes this one
04:51I don't like tea I like gin
04:56it was that campaign which I think was the turning point for Aldi in the UK got into the UK
05:03consumers
05:03head that actually Aldi sell products that are as good as the brands Aldi's profits soared by 124%
05:13in the wake of the ads proving that we really do love cheaper knockoffs M&S meanwhile was plowing its
05:21own own
05:22brand furrow it was pulling off something that no other supermarket could creating unique products
05:29that were seen as luxurious through glossy adverts the M&S name came to mean posh indulgent quality this is
05:39not just a pudding this is a melt in the middle Belgian chocolate pudding served with extra thick
05:45Channel Island cream this is not just food this is M&S food M&S thinks they are unique and
05:54what they
05:55offer can't be rivaled by their competitors and that is simply by the way that they describe the food
06:00this is not any food it's M&S food then Aldi spotted a perfect opportunity to make its move
06:08against the posh nosh pioneers having honed its copying skills on the big brands it now put them
06:15to use on an iconic M&S product this is the OG Colin and this is the copy Caterpillar Cuthbert
06:34Colin the Caterpillar had been a massive M&S success story around 15 million had been sold since his
06:42launch in 1990 even celebs love him Colin the Caterpillar cake was the definitive middle-class
06:53party stable perfect size of course for a cake delicious fun Aldi's new tactic of copying an own brand
07:03product whipped up a frenzy people grew up with Colin the Caterpillar so when Aldi came after it it was
07:10going to be big to find out just how similar these cakes are I'm meeting someone seriously obsessed with
07:19Colin this is Sam okay how far does this super fandom go I mean I have a little tattoo of
07:27him
07:27and Percy on my leg oh my goodness why get a tattoo of Colin the Caterpillar I mean he's just
07:37cute you
07:38know I love him who doesn't like the cakes my boss gets me one every year for my birthday for
07:42work
07:43Sam how did you feel when you found out that Colin had been copied I mean I was quite surprised
07:50but
07:50also he is an icon so why would you not try and replicate it for your own benefit so I
07:55understand
07:55what Aldi were doing let's play a little game of spot the difference right now what are you thinking
08:00I mean you get more smarties on the Caterpillar but the finish is arguably not as nice he's a bit
08:06kind
08:06of he's a little bit drippy although he's a very smart with his bowtie I feel like Colin's face is
08:12a bit
08:12less terrifying maybe but at two pounds and a penny price difference can Sam tell them apart on taste
08:21it's chocolatey it's sweet I have my suspicions as to which one it might be but I do need to
08:28do the
08:28other one to be sure and Caterpillar number two oh that was a confident that was also sweet it was
08:40chocolatey but had a slightly different taste slightly less artificial possibly okay right
08:47well if you'd like to remove your blindfold okay mm-hmm and give us your verdict okay so I think
08:54the first
08:55one was Cuthbert and I think the second one was Colin I mean both very nice both totally edible and
09:08if
09:08someone served you a party you'd still be really thrilled I think although Sam could tell her Colin
09:14from her Cuthbert it was a pretty close call with the two cakes being so similar M&S had to
09:21act
09:23consumer spend is so keenly fought over nowadays that it can really make a difference to a brand
09:31if another competitor copies it and has a successful dupe if Audi succeed in selling lots of Cuthbert's
09:40then that means that yeah there's going to be less Colin sold in the UK M&S felt its only
09:48option
09:48was to sue for trademark infringement to try to get Cuthbert off the shelves so Colin and Cuthbert
09:56ended up in Caterpillar Court it was important for M&S to show that it did not appreciate anyone copying
10:07it's particularly special products especially ones that they put a lot of marketing investment into
10:16in response Aldi took to social media to defend itself and the results were hilarious it set fire
10:25to feeds as people enjoyed the poking of of each other's brands and also generated a massive amount
10:31of headlines which was free marketing the court case was eventually settled in a secret deal between
10:37the retailers and Cuthbert is still alive and crawling today Aldi has been rubbing it in M&S's face ever
10:46since with social media posts and brazen extremely cheeky ads all right Cuthbert Colin cake anyone
11:04M&S may have lost this particular battle but the war wasn't over soon they were at it again in
11:14a
11:14festive face-off for Christmas 2020 M&S sold this gin it's got a beautiful forest scene on the outside
11:24and then underneath a little light beautiful the very next year Aldi seemed to be doing a bit of
11:34re-gifting when it released this you've got a lovely forest scene on the outside and then the bottom a
11:42little light really quite similar I think it's time for our former Aldi insider to spill the beans on its
11:49battle strategies we would look at different places for inspiration for our new products at Christmas and
11:57without doubt that would be one of the times in the year where we would take particular focus
12:02at M&S because we knew that M&S were the most innovative and had the greatest range of new
12:08products
12:10with Aldi on M&S's naughty list it was time for another trip to the courts once again Aldi took
12:18to
12:18social media to argue its case but in this battle M&S wasn't backing down M&S decided actually we're
12:27not going to stand for this and they won and Aldi actually were told no you're too close and Aldi
12:33had
12:33to take that product off sale and have not sold it since Aldi may have lost this gin joust but
12:41its
12:41response to the M&S win was to keep battering them on social media in the summer M&S made
12:49a big deal
12:50of launching its Japanese inspired strawberry and cream sando Aldi proved that it cannot take it
12:57seriously by posting this or what about the illicit Percy Pig and Cuff but the caterpillar romance
13:06caught on camera at a Coldplay concert because Brits love humor and they tap into it they make
13:13everything into a joke if they win they make it into a joke and if they lose they make it
13:17into a joke
13:18it's just genius coming up facing a global money meltdown everyone suddenly thinks oh I've run out
13:30of money even well-heeled M&S customers M&S finds a recipe for success you don't always want to
13:37cook
13:38everything from scratch sometimes you do want something just a little bit nicer there was a
13:49time long before Colin and Cuffert were making headlines that Aldi was unknown in Britain the
13:59German discounter first landed on our shores in 1990 and for years no one paid much attention until a
14:08global crisis changed everything as a result of the 2008-9 financial crisis everyone suddenly thinks oh I've
14:18run out of money even well-heeled M&S customers one person's global financial catastrophe is another
14:26person's opportunity 18 years after Aldi had arrived in Britain the battle with M&S began in earnest the fact
14:35that you can see really expensive Range Rovers in any Aldi car park is really testament to the fact that
14:42Aldi's
14:43discount proposition plays well to a much larger customer base than when it first entered the UK
14:50surprisingly for a discount supermarket 50% of Aldi's customers were now from wealthier backgrounds
14:57certainly since the financial crisis of 2008-9 and the rise of Aldi we've embraced the idea that saving
15:06money is something virtuous as Aldi sales rose by a quarter in 2008 alone M&S had to act and
15:17rather than take on
15:18Aldi's famously low prices it found a very creative way to help us save money the big solution was ta
15:28-da a meal deal now this wasn't your bog-standard meal deal of a sandwich Chris and a drink
15:35this was an M&S meal deal and as ever it came with glossy and sensuous ads this weekend choose
15:46a main course from our restaurant quality range the cook menu a sumptuous side dish a delicious dessert and an
15:54exclusive bottle of wine now that's quality worth every penny
16:01it was called dine in and to understand the secret of its success dinner is so thank you so much
16:11I've invited superfan Sam to join me for dinner yes she loves dine in as well as Colin
16:18people do go out less I think now like all my friends go out less to eat places it's a
16:23real shame
16:25less eating out meant more dining in with M&S you want to have something nice at home you don't
16:32always
16:32want to cook everything from scratch you don't always want to have something really basic sometimes you do
16:37want something just a little bit nicer so dine in dialed in to our desire for a treat M&S
16:47customers couldn't
16:48afford to go out you know as often or at all for a nice meal the local Bistro or even
16:53Pizza Express on a Friday night can you persuade
16:56people to spend that money in store and dine in for 10 pounds was a fantastic value the dine in
17:04deals
17:06revolutionized the way that British consumers felt about eating in and staying at home to entertain it's a win-win
17:15situation for the consumer they get a restaurant style meal in the comfort of their home without
17:20breaking the bank since the launch M&S has sold more than 200 million dine-in meals and it's still
17:29a roaring
17:30success today as the cost of living crisis means 38% of us say we cut back on eating out
17:37to save cash
17:41but in the fight with M&S Aldi is always scrapping specially selected is Aldi's posh range and
17:50they've got some pretty fancy ready meals first up a lovely looking mac and cheese and it contains not
17:56one but four cheeses then we've got Mexican style barbacoa beef and rice creole style chicken and rice
18:04and a lovely looking lasagna now all of these are part of the gastro range represented by this G here
18:13which all seems kind of familiar
18:19no prizes for guessing where Aldi got its inspiration for the product and is mocking advertising
18:27this bad boy
18:29melts in your mouth
18:31it really is
18:32the business
18:33go all fancy
18:35with Aldi
18:35specially selected
18:38they're definitely mimicking
18:40Marks and Spencer's quite a lot in a way to say look
18:42although our prices aren't what yours are
18:45we're quite close to what you do and we've got great quality food too
18:47I think specially selected will have attracted more of the premium M&S type customers
18:52because it's convincing the skeptics of Aldi that no we are actually offering really good highest possible quality products
19:04as ever Aldi's more than happy to follow a trail blazed by M&S
19:09but there's a problem
19:11try as they might they just can't compete with M&S's range of options
19:18Aldi has always been built around simplicity and that is from both the fairly limited range of products and also
19:26from the stores being fairly small
19:29by doing that they keep all of their overheads down and that means that they've been able to offer really
19:34low prices
19:36great for low prices
19:37not so great when you're up against M&S's massive dine-in range
19:44Aldi they can't do that
19:46they've not got the space in their stores to do that
19:49so they won't ever be able to quite match M&S on their dine-in deals
19:54but I don't think any retailer will be able to
19:57In the dine-in dust up M&S has the upper hand
20:01but whatever the score
20:03Aldi never concedes
20:06when dine-in was launched in 2008 it included wine
20:11but a bottle of plonk is now pricey
20:14and M&S quietly removed wine from its dine-in deals in 2021
20:22all of a sudden
20:23Aldi had an opening to attack
20:27revenge is a dish best served with wine
20:30and look at this massive collection
20:33it basically takes up the whole of the back wall
20:39a big wine range but at Aldi's prices
20:42it's catnip to upmarket customers
20:46if we dip in with the nose
20:49what is the first sensation that gives you?
20:51it's quite fruity
20:52it's rich and deep bodied isn't it?
20:54in this cheeky ad it went undercover
20:57to see if posh punters could detect Aldi plonk
21:00what if I tell you this Toscano Rosso from Aldi
21:04is only £7.99
21:07I can't believe that
21:08£12.49
21:09really?
21:10yes
21:11Aldi have won over
21:13this was a swathe of middle class consumers
21:14who can put a bottle of claret on the table
21:18or some smoked salmon and boast about
21:20ah this is the Aldi version
21:22and that is genius
21:24to persuade consumers
21:25that you've got kudos
21:27for coming into our store
21:28and saving money
21:30M&S was under attack in the wine aisle
21:33and it scored a massive own goal
21:37when an inviting M&S garden furniture catalogue
21:41inadvertently featured an Aldi wine bottle
21:44needless to say
21:45Aldi spotted the faux pas
21:47and rubbed M&S's face in it
21:50but a big wine range does have a downside
21:54we have all stood in the wine aisle in the supermarket
21:58and felt completely bamboozled
22:00do you go for something that you've tried before
22:02do you go for something with a pretty label
22:05do you make a decision purely based on price
22:08it can be really really difficult
22:11so M&S's latest strategy to win the wine war
22:14is to help us decide which bottle to buy with AI
22:19you answer a series of questions
22:21and based on your palette
22:24so different tastes and flavours you like
22:26it recommends a bunch of wines
22:28so let's give it a go
22:30let's talk flavour
22:31you're wandering around the food hall
22:33what sort of taste are you in the mood for
22:37vegetal
22:38vegetal
22:39vegetal
22:39wow I've
22:40I don't think I've ever used that word before
22:43vegetal
22:44unctuous
22:45is this actually helping?
22:48I've got a list here
22:49of
22:51about 15 different wines
22:53right
22:54I'm going to try that
22:57and here we go
23:04cheers
23:10I'm getting juicy cherries
23:11I'm getting unctuous stew
23:13all of it
23:15well
23:16it certainly helps me sound like I know what I'm talking about
23:20but whether it helps M&S win the wine wars
23:23we'll have to wait and see
23:27coming up
23:28the country's biggest German discounter
23:31tries desperately to prove its British credentials
23:35we've all been on the motorway and an Audi van's passed by
23:38and we've seen the big Union Jack on there
23:41while in a bold new move M&S goes from luxury to low cost
23:47they want to say that we're not just there for the special occasions
23:51so we can get more of your wallet more of the week
24:00whether it's cakes in the courtroom
24:03the ready meal rumble
24:06or the wine wars
24:09the battle between Aldi and M&S is a bruising business
24:14but in this fight
24:16one of them has had a massive head start
24:19M&S has been with us through wars
24:23depressions
24:24Beatlemania
24:25punk rock
24:26the wedding of Charles and Di
24:27it truly is a British institution
24:32having been part of our lives for over 140 years
24:37its British credentials couldn't be better
24:42even in the 70s
24:43M&S's wholesome ads were keen to highlight its home grown produce
24:48they're both made with top quality Scottish beef
24:50and so are these fresh pies
24:53three quarters of us say buying British matters enough to shape our shopping habits
25:00customers like to buy local because they feel that it will be fresh and it will be good quality
25:04the British standards in food are really high but they also environmentally want to buy local
25:10it meant the German discounter Aldi was on the back foot when it arrived in Britain
25:16Aldi actually struggled for its first 20 or so years in the UK
25:20and one of the reasons for that was because we used to sell loads of bratwurst and frigidellen and other
25:26German type products
25:28but it really became quite obvious that we weren't offering the exact correct range that the British customer wanted
25:37to make its mark on marks and sparks this Teutonic titan of thrift jettisoned its German vibes
25:45it's now more British than a cup of tea
25:49I honestly don't think I've seen this many British flags outside of a royal visit
25:55they're on the products on the signage on the windows everywhere
26:02Aldi even sponsors the British Olympic and Paralympic teams
26:08pushing the British message has been really important for Aldi in the last 15 years or so
26:13I think we've all been on the motorway and an Aldi van has passed by
26:17and we've seen the big Union Jack on there with championing British quality
26:24Aldi is stretching its British vibes to the max
26:29you'll find some rather interesting products emblazoned with the Union Jack
26:35ah-ha okay we've got a king prawn chicken and chorizo paella
26:41which doesn't sound very British
26:44take a little look it's got Spanish chorizo in it and non-EU prawns
26:49oh but it's made with British chicken
26:52it's the chick that makes it British
27:00Belgian chocolate mousse made with British cream
27:11we grow mangoes in the UK
27:14ah that's what it is made with British dairy
27:20Aldi may be stretching the British message a bit far
27:24but by saying Auf Wiedersehen to its German heritage
27:28it's certainly closing ranks on M&S
27:37Despite being a late arrival on our shores
27:40Aldi isn't playing catch-up on every front
27:44in the war over our weekly shop
27:46Aldi has always had one massive advantage
27:49low prices
27:52the key focus of Aldi is price, price, price
27:56and every single aspect of the store experience is matched up with that
28:0168% of us say we're likely to do more of our regular food shopping
28:06at budget supermarkets like Aldi
28:08I like that Aldi is very affordable
28:10you know you go in for a few things but then you come out with a few other surprises
28:14with the current economy and the amount we are getting paid
28:18it's really kind of like benefit for us to have Aldi because of the prices
28:23and quality as well
28:26affordable, big variety
28:28and good fun
28:30always enjoy going to Aldi
28:32budget friendly
28:33it's gone from there to there
28:36within over a couple of years
28:37so it's probably one of the best nowadays
28:41with Aldi as happy as a pig inch
28:43a blanket
28:45M&S realised that to compete
28:47it needed to offer more than just top-up treats and luxuries
28:52you couldn't do a weekly shop at M&S
28:54I mean unless you had more money than cents
28:57and also lots of things they just didn't sell
28:59and you associated M&S therefore with kind of special occasion
29:03this is the place you go in for actually a really pricey but good lasagna
29:07in the war with Aldi M&S needed to offer a more complete shop
29:13and it did something extraordinary
29:17not just by launching this brash ad with retro band status quo
29:22oh here we are at M&S and here we go
29:26remarkable value means the price is the low
29:29here we go
29:32saving all over the store
29:37as the other big supermarkets started price matching Aldi
29:41the one with the poshest reputation made an unprecedented step
29:45in 2019 M&S took on Aldi at its own game
29:50when it launched a value range
29:54Remarksable
29:57M&S may not be pulling the Aldi trick of mimicking other brands packaging
30:01but they're definitely taking inspiration from Aldi on price
30:04now look at these basic Remarksable products
30:09now these ones are exactly the same price as these products from Aldi
30:14and looking at these products they're just 1p more for M&S
30:22going from chic to cheap certainly worked for M&S
30:26when it cut the cost of its eggs sales rose by 43%
30:33and Remarksable products were 10% of its food sales in the year the range launched
30:40they want to say that we're not just there for the special occasions
30:43we're not just there for your weekend buy
30:45we've got a range of really fabulous food at all prices
30:49we'll do the core basics really brilliantly
30:51so we can get more of your wallet more of the week
30:54with M&S going cheap
30:57and Aldi going posh
30:58it's getting harder to tell which is playing the prince
31:02and which the pauper
31:04so we're seeing these two retailers who traditionally
31:08have been on different ends of the spectrum
31:11starting to try and take little elements from each other
31:14and become a little bit more like each other
31:23if there's one area where M&S tends to trounce Aldi
31:27it's trends
31:30I found it!
31:31the viral, outrageously chocolate custard cream egg from M&S
31:36I feel like pistachio has definitely been trending recently
31:39how freaking cute are these?
31:41this is very high in protein, very high in zinc
31:44that sounds absolutely bloody smashing
31:47from avocados in the 50s
31:50to vegetarian and calorie counted meals in the 80s
31:53to gluten free in the 2010s
31:56M&S appears to have a crystal ball when it comes to predicting what's going to be big
32:02M&S are very good at innovation and they're very good at spotting trends
32:05and that's what you have to do now, you have to act really, really quickly as a supermarket
32:08there's a huge expectation that if there's something new that we've got to eat
32:13M&S need to be offering it to us
32:15so there's been a lot of pressure on M&S to get it right
32:19and M&S has delivered an absolute trend triumph
32:23a kefir shot created with in-vogue health brand, Zoe
32:29Zoe is gut obsessed and more than 200,000 people have become members since its launch in 2022
32:37M&S was making bold claims about its new shot on its socials
32:42This apparently is the best gut shot in the world
32:48Customers were certainly buying it
32:50More than a million were sold in its first three months
32:53and at one point M&S was selling more gut shots than coke or water
33:00Aldi would have been studying its success intently
33:04Aldi tend to follow rather than lead
33:07They do let the market develop first
33:10and naturally M&S probably lead that market
33:15Six months after M&S launched its gut sensation
33:19Aldi was at it too
33:21But in this trendy battle, it was pulling a new move
33:26Now this is interesting
33:28This is Aldi's kefir
33:31It looks very similar to this kefir
33:34So is this another homage to a well-known brand?
33:37Actually no
33:39It's a collab
33:42Aldi has partnered with the market leading kefir brand Biotiful
33:47So in the fight to be the most on-trend
33:50Aldi has copied M&S once again
33:53But instead of copying an M&S product
33:56It's copying the idea of a collab with a massive brand
34:04Coming up, it's Pig vs Carrot as M&S and Aldi clash in the next battleground
34:10Kevin the carrot is a very clever attempt by Aldi
34:13To get some of that fluffy cuteness that M&S enjoy with Percy
34:24From a caterpillar crusade
34:28To a vendetta over value
34:30To Aldi junking the German
34:33And scrapping the sauerkraut
34:35These are the most bitter of rivals
34:39And now they're muscling in on each other's turf
34:42Literally
34:46M&S used to be a proud fixture on our high streets
34:50But shopping habits changed
34:52And selling food in a large department store
34:55Was no longer working for it
34:57To shop the food and drink
34:59You had to kind of walk through these dismal clothing ranges
35:03Of dull dresses and awful menswear
35:07And frequently they were in the wrong parts of town
35:10In the wrong buildings
35:12M&S decided to up sticks
35:16M&S took the very brave decision
35:18We're going to shut a lot of these stores
35:20But what they then did was
35:22Well, we're going to open new food halls
35:25M&S decided to play Aldi at its own game
35:28It built many of its new food halls in out of town retail parks
35:33The kind of places you tend to find Aldi
35:36And they offer a luxury shopping experience
35:39That Aldi just can't match
35:44Got to talk about this ludicrous cheese bar
35:47This is phenomenal
35:48Have we mentioned yet that Sam is an M&S superfan?
35:52I've never seen this in amongst the Spencer's
35:55This is amazing
35:58M&S's aim is to have a food store within a 15 minute drive
36:03For 90% of the population
36:06Obviously got to have a look at the Collins selection
36:07Pretty well stocked to be fair
36:09Got a load of minis, got the Connies
36:11And obviously got the boy himself
36:15What you can now see is
36:17Marks & Spencer is fighting back going
36:19We can provide something different
36:21We have service, we have beautiful market style fresh food
36:24And they've really upped their game
36:31When it comes to a luxury store experience
36:34M&S say it not just with food
36:38But with flowers
36:39M&S have developed this reputation
36:42For offering amazing bunches of flowers
36:46And its blooms are bountiful
36:49So quite a big selection
36:51And it's literally right when you come in the door
36:54So that's really handy
36:56They're a great product to have at the store entrance
37:00Gives the impression of freshness
37:03M&S has even teamed up with glam celebs
37:06Like Dame Joan Collins
37:07To highlight their sophistication
37:10Well these roses
37:11These are called avalanche roses
37:13They are beautiful and they smell
37:16You see I could take that one out
37:18Beautiful actually
37:21We spend about 2.2 billion pounds a year on flowers and plants
37:26So this is fertile ground for a floral fallout
37:31With flowers playing such a key role in M&S's offering
37:35Aldi saw another opportunity to be a thorn in its side
37:40By selling budget blooms
37:46I tell you what I've visited a lot of flowers in my life
37:49And I think this might be the most beautiful year
37:51Oh definitely
37:52David Snaith grows all of Aldi's sunflowers
37:57You can guarantee if you see some sunflowers in store
38:00They're mine and they're the best
38:03I wonder what M&S would have to say about that
38:07David harvests 5 million sunflowers a year for Aldi
38:10And I'm attempting to help out
38:13Oh!
38:14Ow!
38:16Oh God!
38:18You've got to have firm hands for that
38:20Yeah you have yeah
38:21Yeah but you know we normally wear gloves to be fair to do it
38:26So
38:27They're quite tough aren't they?
38:28Yeah they are tough
38:29There you go, right chop that off
38:31How's that?
38:32That's perfect
38:33David you're too kind
38:36Five of these make a bunch which cost £3.79p
38:40M&S's bouquets are 71p more expensive
38:43And you get one less sunflower
38:46So how do you manage to sell a beautiful bunch of flowers at such a low price?
38:51Well they're just grown locally, they're grown in Lincolnshire
38:55Because this is heavy isn't it?
38:57Yeah well if
38:57I mean what are you looking at, like half a kilo?
38:59Yeah I'd say so, if they were imported just think of the cost of that
39:03It's all about selling a hell of a lot of flowers
39:06So I grow a lot of flowers for Aldi and that helps keep prices low
39:13So Aldi is using its tried and tested model for selling food to market flowers too
39:18Offer a smaller range but sell loads of it to keep costs low
39:25Other retailers, probably higher price but they don't sell the volume compared to Aldi
39:31It's a real sunflower smackdown when it comes to price
39:39Our next fight is huge but it's over something tiny
39:45A pink chewy pig
39:47M&S sells 36 bags of Percy pigs every minute
39:53And it's made more than £130 million for them since its launch in 1992
39:59This pig is absolutely flying
40:05Percy pig is very important to M&S not just financially but as this kind of icon
40:09This symbol that M&S is kind of cheeky
40:12You know it's not a big boring supermarket, we're a cheeky fun supermarket
40:17If you like Percy pig you have to go to M&S
40:20So it's creating customer loyalty for them
40:25And it's something which nobody can match
40:28M&S had triumphed with Percy
40:32Aldi needed something that would bring home the bacon
40:35So in tried and tested fashion, it made a doppelganger
40:40Leo the lion
40:42When Aldi tried to launch Leo the lion
40:45It was quite interesting because it was a lion with a pink face
40:48Which I did think was a little bit unusual
40:51Leo roared into town in 2019
40:54And he actually had one up on Percy
40:57In a world where plant based was on the rise
41:00He was vegan
41:01Percy, who originally contained pork gelatine
41:05Didn't become fully herbivore until more than two years after Leo
41:10But unfortunately for Leo, he wasn't able to become the lion king
41:15Launching Leo the lion, they really didn't have that space within the confectionary area
41:20To be able to have a whole bay of Leo the lion products
41:23Whereas you go into M&S, you will see two or three bays of Percy pig
41:29You cannot miss it
41:30Leo couldn't beat Percy
41:33But Aldi wasn't taking the defeat lion down
41:37It had a superstar waiting in the wings who it hoped would succeed where Leo had failed
41:42His name is Kevin the carrot
41:46Kevin the carrot is a very clever attempt by Aldi
41:49To try to sort of get some of that fluffy cuteness that M&S enjoy with Percy
41:55Kevin the carrot equals Aldi in the same way as Percy pig equals Marks and Spencers
42:02Kevin burst into our lives in a 2016 Christmas ad
42:11Oh great
42:13It was different to all of the other adverts that were to a certain extent
42:17A little bit like M&S's showing, you know, great quality food
42:20This is not just any old Christmas pudding, this is M&S Christmas pudding
42:24So it added a great deal of excitement and fun
42:28And lots of people were soon talking about Kevin the carrot
42:32He was then turned into a plushie, which flew out the door when they were launched
42:37What Kevin the carrot represents is he's a great mascot to keep consumers coming through the door
42:44And you have to remember, he seems very British
42:46He's funny, he's got lots of humour, he's likeable
42:49We all like Kevin the carrot
42:51So it gets us to like Aldi too
42:54Because you transfer those emotions to the brand
42:57It's absolute genius
43:00Then at the end of 2022
43:03Aldi set itself up for an M&S mascot massacre
43:06It launched Kevin Jelly Sweets
43:09On its website, it was openly telling Percy to move over
43:14And saying that he was ready to take on Percy and Pals
43:20But how successful has he been at purging the pig?
43:25Right, oh my goodness, look at this
43:29There's a lot of Percy Palsy
43:31What have we got?
43:34OG, going in the basket
43:37Reversy Percy, I've never seen these before
43:39Bow all of that's here
43:42Ooh
43:44Third less sugar
43:50Jam sandwich creams
43:55Good drinks
43:57Freezer section
43:58We have ice creams
44:01And lollies
44:03Percy doesn't appear just on food either, look at these
44:07Percy napkins
44:09And I think, probably my favourite yet
44:14I've just been into Mark's Suspenses
44:16And I found, in total, 20 Percy Pig products
44:22Including, a personal favourite, Percy Pig bunting
44:27Now, I went into Aldi
44:29And guess how many Kevin the Carrot products I found
44:35Just one
44:36Not a single Kevin Sweet in sight
44:41And the other thing with Kevin is that
44:43He's a carrot
44:44I mean, he's not, you know, with M&S
44:46They can do all sorts of like puddings, not just sweets
44:49You just can't, carrot isn't the same thing
44:51So you can't really do it in the same way
44:53So Kevin, nice attempt
44:55But there's no way you can topple Percy
45:03M&S may be the champions of the chewy sweet battle
45:07But in the supermarket war, our rivals are still neck and neck
45:11M&S alone can't stop the rise of bold, brash Aldi
45:17Aldi want to expand in the UK, aggressively
45:21Because more consumers that come through the doors
45:23Means more cash for them
45:25But the high street veteran is the master of learning and adapting
45:31Aldi's business model is all about offering great value for money
45:35M&S's model is all about offering great quality
45:39But they also do the same as each other
45:43So it's Aldi looking at M&S for quality
45:47It's M&S looking at Aldi for value for money
45:52And as these two stores thrive, while others struggle to survive
45:56The competition will get even fiercer
45:59People are shopping for value
46:01And they're shopping for treats and experiences
46:03So the same shopper is actually shopping in both
46:06My local M&S food hall is right across the road from an Aldi
46:11And an awful lot of customers, you can see them go from one to the other
46:15They're keeping their friends close and their enemies closer
46:19Because in this battle of the brands, the tussle at the tills is far from over
46:31Well, fingers crossed for a fresh forever friendship
46:35Back matchmaking deserving families next Tuesday night
46:38The doghouse is at eight o'clock
46:40And tomorrow, ambition, betrayal and burning revenge
46:44Barbara Taylor Bradford's bestseller comes to life as Brenda Bledin is a woman of substance
46:49Be here for the drama at nine o'clock
46:51Next tonight, scratched below the surface in handcuffed, last pair standing
46:56At $var remade
46:58Moved into
46:592.8 an area
46:59The demand is no one place to find too high