The 1980s Supermarket - Season 1
Season 1
Episodes
Episode 1
A nostalgic trip back to the 1980s, where it was dog eat dog for Britain's supermarkets, with big brands devouring smaller chains. Dr Chris Clarke discovers the secret of how potato waffles keep their shape. A Marks and Spencer product developer reveals how in 1980, she started selling off un-eaten ready-made sandwiches from an in-store café to shoppers in the aisles.
Episode 2
In the era of leg warmers, we were infatuated with diets and exercise. We reveal how supermarkets launched diet-ready meals, and we look at 80s fad diets. Plus, a home interior revolution!
Episode 3
This time it's the late 80s and it's a tale of two shopping baskets - the yuppies are splashing the cash on high-end food and hard-up millions are buying budget basics.
We tell the story of how ice cream giant Walls catered for any budget when they launched their cheap but sophisticated ice cream dessert Viennetta. And food scientist Dr Chris Clarke reveals the magic behind Ice Magic – the mysterious chocolate source that turned to a solid as soon as it touched your ice cream.
We uncover the plethora of posh products that hit the supermarket shelves in the late 80s, including Chardonnay and sundried tomatoes. And TV chef Rustie Lee shows us what can be done with them when she whips up a treat in the kitchen.
Budget Britain of the 80s goes under the microscope when we revisit value convenience range Happy Shopper and discover the famous name they employed in their advertisement to help them take on the supermarket big boys.
We reveal how the superstores started selling the latest must-have gadgets – from Sony Walkmans and VHS players to Casio watches and ZX Spectrums. We then let Rustie loose on two other iconic gadgets from the 80s – a Breville toasted sandwich maker and a SodaStream, as she rustles up a tuna crunch melt and a cola ice cream float.
We tell the story of Britain went crackers for a cuppa as coffee outsold tea for the first time in our supermarkets. Our experts reminisce over the iconic Nescafé Gold Blend adverts and Dr Chris reveals how instant freeze-dried coffee is made.
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