Marks & Spencer Caramel Chocolate Bar

This, as you may have guessed, is an M&S Mars Bar. A 100% Made-In-Germany fake. I know it’s not just a coincidence that it looks a bit like a Mars Bar because they also do a Fake Twix, Fake Bounty and Fake Snickers (reviews coming soon, you’ll be excited to know!)

As you can see, once you get past the wrapper it looks exactly like a Mars Bar. There’s no cocoa percentage listed on the wrapper, but I can tell you the top ingredients are sugar, glucose syrup, sweetened condensed skimmed milk and vegetable oil. So you can guess that the actual cocoa content falls somewhere between “not much” and “practically none”. Just like a real Mars Bar!

It’s been a long time since I had a Mars Bar, but the taste seems pretty close to the real thing too. It’s very sweet, very sticky and after two bites quite sickly. In other words, it replicates the Mars Bar experience very well.

My initial impression was that there was less caramel her, but having looked back at some of my old Mars Bar photos, they actually look quite similar. Hardcore experts might be able to tell the difference, but I doubt I would.

So, for 40p you have a 55g bar that looks, acts and taste exactly like a Mars Bar.

My question is this: WHY??

M&S are known for quality foods. They’re a step up from other supermarket chains. What on Earth are they doing copying something as mundane as a Mars Bar? I don’t know if Mars/Masterfoods were involved in this or licensed the ‘design’ – I have to assume so because it’s only Mars products that have been faked – or if it’s an unauthorised copy, but that’s not really the point.

Admittedly, I purchased this in the M&S Simply Food in Marylebone Station where it’s obviously meant to appeal to passing travelers who want nothing more than a quick snack, but I still find it a little mind boggling that they would put their name to this. While the rest of the chocolate industry is slowly becoming more aware of quality, Marks & Spencer is putting its good name on what can only be described as junk food.

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