Salmon from ‘Lochmuir’ may sound extra special.
But don’t go looking for the farm on the map – it doesn’t actually exist.
Marks & Spencer, which sells 11,000 tonnes of ‘Lochmuir’ salmon a year, invented the location as part of its branding. The fish actually comes from farms all over Scotland.
Similarly, the supermarket’s ‘Oakham’ chickens are not from a farm in Rutland, but from farms across East Anglia, Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to a Which? investigation.
INVENTED PLACES AND ‘WEASEL WORDS’ DESIGNED TO FOOL US
Supermarkets use a vast range of tactics to lure us into buying their products.
Some brands use entirely invented places to evoke a sense of homeliness and wholesomeness, while others use ambiguous, meaningless language such as ‘hearty’ and ‘rich’ designed to baffle.
M&S Lochmuir Salmon
The place ‘Lochmuir’ doesn’t actually exist, instead fish comes from farms across Scotland.- M&S Oakham chicken
Not from a farm in Oakham, Rutland, but from farms across East Anglia, Scotland and Northern Ireland. - Tesco Willow Farm chicken
Willow Farm does exist, according to the supermarket, but it still gets its chicken for this range from barns all over the country. - Quaker Oats Oat so Simple Raspberry and Pomegranate flavour porridge
Contains no raspberry or pomegranate, only flavourings. - Homepride Beef in Ale cooking sauce
Billed as ‘rich and hearty’ but actually contains no beef stock and only 4 per cent ale. - Covent Garden Wild Mushroom soup
Contains only 0.6 per cent dried wild mushrooms, but 18 per cent normal mushrooms - Tesco Mango & Passion Fruit Smoothie
Contains 47 per cent apple juice, 23 per cent mango purée, and 4 per cent passion fruit purée.