Morrisons enters own-brand war with M Kitchen range

The grocer will debut the M Kitchen convenience range next week, which Morrisons claims will offer customers restaurant standard recipes.

Executive chef and head of innovation Neil Nugent has created 150 new lines, which includes a bistro range alongside Pan-Asian and tapas-style dishes. There will also be 500 improved products which have been reformulated.

Morrisons’ own-brand relaunch follows rival grocers ploughing money into their own ranges.

Asda relaunched its mid-tier brand as Chosen By You last year, while Sainsbury’s relaunched its top tier brand Taste the Difference and is also in the process of overhauling its mid-tier By Sainsbury’s products.

Meanwhile, Tesco said it has improved more than 1,000 products in its own-label ranges and has just launched a price drop cutting the cost of thousands of these products. It is investing in what it calls venture brands, which are own brand products but don’t come under the Tesco brand.

Morrisons’ M Kitchen launch is part of a two-year own-brand review that will see its tiering evolve from ‘good, better, best’ to four priorities: the need to buy conveniently; the need to buy responsibly; the need to buy fresh food – made by Morrisons; and the need to buy on a budget.

Other sub-brands under consideration are Live Well, changing its Value range to M Savers, M Kids, M Greencare and M Organic. Premium range The Best is expected to be ditched.

The relaunch is part of chief executive Dalton Philips’ plans to overhaul the business. He recruited Belinda Youngs from Canadian grocer Sobeys this year to spearhead the development of the Morrisons brand.