Percy Pigs by Marks and Spencer - cult sweets expand into frozen desserts

Percy Pigs are stacked in pink rows in the Marks and Spencer freezer aisle, their smiling faces now embossed on tubs of ice cream rather than just crinkly sweet bags. Shoppers stop, touch the cold plastic, and many recognise the flavour before they read the label.

Percy Pigs move into freezers

The Percy Pig Ice Cream by Marks and Spencer is a strawberry and raspberry-flavoured dairy dessert with a ripple and gummy pieces inspired by the original jelly sweets. The company launched it as part of a wider Percy-branded frozen range for UK customers.

Stuart Machin, chief executive of Marks and Spencer, has repeatedly highlighted the Percy Pig brand as a driver of food innovation and margin, and the step into freezers fits that strategy. When you open a tub at home, the aroma is sharply sweet, closer to strawberry yoghurt than to plain vanilla.

Recipe and format details

On the official Marks and Spencer product page, Percy Pig ice cream is described as a strawberry-flavoured dairy ice cream with a fruity ripple and chewy pink sweets mixed through. The texture mixes smooth cream with small gummy pieces that soften slightly but still add resistance when you scoop.

Unlike many licensed ice creams, Percy Pig is developed in-house as part of the wider M&S Food range rather than outsourced to an external brand owner. Product developers at M&S have previously taken the flavour profile into yoghurt, biscuits and bakery; ice cream continues that flavour thread in a frozen format.

Packaging, price and availability

The tub uses the familiar Percy Pig character in bold pink on a pastel background, with a lid that often frosts in store freezers so you feel a thin film of ice when you pick it up. This tactile detail, along with the cartoon pig, makes the product eye-catching for families.

Marks and Spencer lists Percy Pig ice cream in UK stores and online food ordering channels, typically at a mid-range supermarket price point compared with national ice cream brands. Exact shelf prices vary by store and promotion, and the product is primarily targeted at UK households rather than export markets.

Role in the Percy portfolio

Percy Pig started as a simple bag of pig-shaped jelly sweets in the 1990s and has grown into a franchise that covers cakes, cookies, soft drinks and even homeware. Ice cream adds another consumption occasion, especially summer desserts and birthday parties.

M&S has leaned on Percy as a mascot for own-brand food, using limited editions and seasonal variants to create repeat visits. A freezer product keeps Percy visible outside the confectionery aisle and can sit alongside other M&S desserts in meal deals and promotional bundles.

Management view and brand strategy

In recent results briefings, CEO Stuart Machin has highlighted the importance of differentiated, own-label products in defending margins against discounters. Percy Pig, including the ice cream, falls directly into that strategy as a brand that customers cannot buy from rival grocers.

Food managing director Alex Freudmann has also spoken publicly about M&S aiming for “remarkable” food ranges, with playful products that still fit into everyday shopping baskets. Percy Pig ice cream walks that line: familiar flavours, but a character-driven twist for children and nostalgic adults.

Stock context and segment impact

For retail investors, the Percy Pig range, including the ice cream, is a small part of total revenue but a visible symbol of the M&S Food turnaround narrative that underpins the equity story. Food growth and brand strength are frequent talking points among analysts.

The Marks and Spencer Group PLC share (ISIN GB0031274896) trades in London in pounds sterling; movements reflect broader performance across clothing, home and food, with Percy Pig contributing to the perception of a more modern, confident food business rather than driving valuation alone.