Marks and Spencer has brought back four chocolate bars from the 1980s, sparking excitement among nostalgic shoppers. The bars – Sparks, Jet, Now! and Coconut Grove – went on sale on Wednesday July 22, priced at £1.80 each.
Classic flavours return
Each bar is made with Fairtrade milk chocolate and has a unique filling. The Sparks bar contains nougat and soft caramel, Jet has chewy nougat, peanut and soft caramel, Now! includes biscuit and caramel, and Coconut Grove features a soft coconut centre. The supermarket confirmed the launch on Facebook, saying the bars are back “in full nostalgic St Michael packaging glory”.
Social media reaction
Hundreds of customers welcomed the return. Chris Alcock said: “Used to love Sparks bars when I was little - deffo gonna have to find me some!” Lynne Robertson added: “I remember these well.” Penny Peerless wrote: “Oh my gosh!!!!!!! Coconut Grove was amazing! I will be stocking up!” Sheree Ann Sharman agreed: “Coconut Grove! I used to love those.” Helen Spisak commented: “Oooooh I loved coconut grove!” and Gillian Mills-Nelson said: “Soooooo happy about this!!” Mark Hetherington said: “Can't wait to try these.” Julia Munday recalled: “Oh yes. Brings back memories of when I was a Saturday girl in M&S in the 80s! I used yo stock up on these every week after I’d been paid!”
M&S spokesperson on the revival
An M&S Food spokesperson said: “After the brilliant response to the return of Take 4 last year, we wanted to dig a little deeper into our archives and revisit more of the chocolate bars customers loved the first time around. With their original St Michael packaging designs and flavours inspired by the much-loved bars of the 80s, Jet, Sparks, Now! and Coconut Grove are a delicious nod to the past – giving some customers the chance to rediscover an old favourite and others the joy of trying them for the very first time.”
