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Punishment Juice: M&S criticised over ‘irresponsible’ marketing

Marks & Spencer has attracted criticism for its marketing of a vegetable and spirulina cold-pressed drink as Punishment Juice, with commentators labelling it “irresponsible” and “harmful”.

Registered nutritionist Sophie Gastman described the product on LinkedIn as “essentially commodified guilt” and asked: “Why are we so committed to reinforcing the idea that vegetables are gross?”

She went on to call the marketing “irresponsible” for attaching morals to the foods consumers eat and supporting the “idea that consuming vegetables is a form of penance”.

Alice Haley, a nutritionist and host of the podcast Let’s Talk Heart Health, agreed that the messaging was “harmful”, not “clever or quirky”.

She wrote: “It undermines public health efforts to promote a positive relationship with food and risks harming people already struggling with disordered eating.”

Wellness sector is ‘a breeding ground for shame-based messaging’

Punishment Juice was launched in June as part of the M&S Eat Well range, which the retailer describes as its “health seal of approval” that is “only given to products that meet evidence-based criteria developed by our nutritionists and endorsed by the British Nutrition Foundation”.

The dark-green beverage contains a mix of juices (cucumber, spinach, celery, kale, aloe vera, mint, parsley, and lime) and powders (spirulina, hemp, and chlorella), and is available at over 400 stores across the UK, retailing for £3.25 per 250 ml bottle.

Lottie Unwin, founder of marketing service companies Up World and Brand Hackers, and podcast host of The Marketing Hustle, told Ingredients Network that the launch was indicative of a broader trend across the industry.

“The wellness space has become a breeding ground for shame-based messaging,” she added, pointing to “detox teas that promise to cleanse your sins, workout brands selling punishment sessions, and food brands using words like ‘sinful’ and ‘naughty’”.

“It's particularly bad in the supplement and fitness industries, where brands seem to think fear and guilt are acceptable motivational tools,” she added.

Punishment Juice ‘shows how normalised food guilt has become’ for wellness industry

Unwin said marketing that “plays on food guilt isn't the win [brands] think it is”, adding that brand teams may have become desensitised due to the gradual creep of diet culture messaging in the industry over the years.

“They're [so] surrounded with phrases like ‘guilty pleasure’ and ‘cheat day’ that ‘Punishment Juice’ probably felt normal in that context,” she said, adding that despite this supposedly being an era of body positivity and mental health awareness, “here's a major retailer literally selling the idea that your body requires punishment”.

She asked: “When a brand that sophisticated gets it this wrong, it shows how normalised food guilt has become across the entire industry. If M&S can't spot this problem, what hope do smaller brands have who won't have a legal team or as many layers of sign-off?”

Is there such a thing as bad publicity?

However, not everyone was so quick to criticise.

James Hickson, co-founder of Just Add Milk Ventures and account director of Brand Hackers, called the launch “another great example of a big brand playing into culture and zeitgeist brilliantly”, adding: “It's the sort of thing you'd expect from a scrappy scale-up looking for attention. But executed across 100s of stores nationwide.”

He said that while the product may not be the most successful in terms of sales, “it’s getting talked about, it’s driving footfall to stores, [and] it’s cementing [M&S’s] reputation as the UK’s most interesting retail brand”.

M&S did not respond to a request for comment.

Top tips to avoid shame-based messaging

Unwin offered three “fixes” for brands looking to market products with a playful edge without reinforcing harmful narratives.

• Before you launch anything wellness-related, ask one simple question: Does this make people feel better about themselves, or worse?
• True creativity in wellness marketing comes from understanding what genuinely motivates people toward positive choices.
• Test your messaging with people. If even one person flags it as potentially harmful, listen.