• by Mark Christou , Yesterday

“Punishment Juice”:  a phrase you’d expect to see scrawled on a prison canteen wall, or screeched during a frat house drinking game. Not anywhere in a retail setting—and certainly not in one of England’s best-loved supermarkets. It’s no surprise, then, that Marks & Spencer’s new cold-pressed, green-vegetable concoction has gone seriously viral.

At first glance, Punishment Juice feels very off-brand. M&S is a premium grocer, famed for high-quality produce and clean, honest branding. Take its redesigned cornflakes cereal packaging, which simply reads “Corn - 325g” on the front of the box. So I’m not too sure of the strategy behind the name. Is it a “punishment” for customers who’ve indulged and now need to detox, or atone? Is it hinting that it’s too veg-heavy and healthy to be tasty? Or is it just an ultra-provocative attention grab?

I can't make sense of it, but I don't have to. For me, Punishment Juice is the deliberate creation of a “moment”: those all-important viral, cultural sensations that draw lucrative attention.

Here, M&S has nothing to lose. Its confidence in its loyal base of customers and the halo effect of its brand allows it to be cheeky and provocative, standing out in mass-market, oversaturated categories to earn an even greater audience share.

The retailer has a strong track record. Just look at the brand’s Strawberries and Cream Sandwich from June, which capitalized on Wimbledon’s favorite dessert to spark a TikTok sensation and reel in a whole new demographic.

The reason products like the sandwich and Punishment Juice go viral is because they’re individualized. Leading U.K. supermarkets like M&S and Waitrose produce smaller product programs, testing, learning, and refining to speak to resonant category cues.

It’s rare to see this kind of provocation in the U.S. Rather than capture moments, American store brands prefer year-round programs like Kroger’s “Simply Organic,” leveraging category codes and adding their own “me-too” branding.

But M&S didn’t create a “me too.” It created a point of view, leveraging a brave, exciting launch to demonstrate how brands can engage with consumers in an interesting way.

When other retailers recognize their important place in our culture, they can begin to tap into this trait for advertising. U.S. private labels are already winning—2024 saw sales of store brand products rise nearly 4% to a record $271 billion. Americans now choose them for almost a quarter (22%) of their groceries, and more than 80% of US consumers rate the quality of these products as the same or better than national brands. Could some originality tip the balance even more in their favor?

Whatever your position on Punishment Juice, you should always feel ready to push the envelope. Modern culture moves at such a lightning speed that everything remains in beta, so retail success rests on understanding your place and what you're trying to achieve. Grasp why, how, and what you want to be known for, and you’ll learn to engage with even the most brand-fickle consumers. After all, M&S went big—and this time, the Juice was worth the squeeze.