M&S food director Kathryn Turner builds a 300,000-strong TikTok following
Kathryn Turner, M&S Food’s 56-year-old product development director, has become a social media hit by posting informal videos about the supermarket’s products and operations. Her popularity has helped bring attention to M&S and is credited by the company with boosting sales of some items, while experts say her unpolished style stands out amid polished advertising and AI-generated content.
Turner has worked at M&S since 1995 and became product development director in 2022, leading 80 staff who develop 1,500 new and improve 1,000 existing products each year. Her videos have received more than 50 million views, and she has over 300,000 TikTok followers, more than the official M&S Food account. The article also notes criticism that her account could sidestep restrictions on advertising less healthy foods, which M&S rejects.
In short
- M&S product boss Kathryn Turner has become a social media star.
- Her videos have attracted over 50 million views.
- M&S credits them with helping sales of some products.
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The case for
Turner’s informal videos give shoppers a clearer view of how products are developed and make a long-established food business feel more accessible. If the content is transparent and follows advertising rules, its reach and reported sales gains can be seen as effective communication rather than a problem in themselves.
The case against
Because Turner is a senior M&S executive and her videos promote the company’s products, viewers may reasonably see them as advertising even when the style feels personal. That raises concerns about whether less healthy foods receive promotion that avoids restrictions or is less clearly recognised as commercial content, and about the influence of a large, trusted following.
Explained simply
M&S, or Marks & Spencer, is a British retailer whose food business sells products in its shops and online. Developing those products involves teams that create new items and update existing ones.
Kathryn Turner has worked at M&S since 1995 and leads its food product development team. TikTok is a video-sharing app where people and companies post short clips, and Turner uses it to show products and parts of the food business.
Her large following has drawn attention to how retailers use social media to promote their products. The debate also touches on rules around advertising less healthy foods, which can apply to marketing on social platforms.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Kathryn Turner is not just any social media star, she’s an M&S social media star: Food store boss racks up millions of hits on TikTok and Instagram and counts Stormzy and Gemma Collins among her legion of fans”.