S he is not the most likely viral star. But with 310,000 followers on TikTok and 270,000 on Instagram, Marks & Spencer Food’s director of product development, Kathryn Turner, has suddenly become one of the year’s big hits on social media. Her videos take the viewer with her as she goes in-store to look at new dessert launches, including its banana, caramel and pecan pudding, or taste test its latest products, such as its cherry and chocolate cookies .

Turner is part of Marks & Spencer’s wider social media strategy implemented in 2020 as a way of attracting younger shoppers. Instead of using traditional influencers, M&S now champions 100 of its own employees on TikTok .

Turner, who launched her account in May, now regularly receives more than 1m likes on her videos, with celebrities including Nigella Lawson and Stormzy among her followers.…