How to Save Money on the Viral M&S Cocktail Tinnie Candles (£10 Mojito, Gin & Piña Colada)

Marks & Spencer has turned its iconic cocktail tinnies into scented candles; and they’re already going viral

Marks & Spencer has taken one of its most recognisable food products and given it a slightly unexpected twist. The retailer’s colourful cocktail “tinnies”, usually found in the drinks aisle, have now been turned into scented candles.

The launch has started to pick up attention online, partly because the designs are instantly recognisable to anyone who has ever bought the drinks. They also sit at a fairly accessible price point, which makes them feel more like a small treat or novelty gift than a luxury home fragrance, and after all it's pretty easy to spend a fortune in M&S, (trust me I know!)

For readers of this site, the more interesting question is how to buy them without paying full price.

From cocktail drink to scented candle

The candle range mirrors several of Marks & Spencer’s popular canned cocktails, with fragrances inspired by the drinks themselves.

The scents include:

• Mojito, with lime and mint notes • Piña Colada, combining coconut, pineapple and vanilla • Gin & Tonic, with citrus and botanical aromas • Pink Passion Star Martini, built around passion fruit and vanilla

Each candle is priced at £10.

That places them firmly in the “impulse purchase” category. They are affordable enough to pick up while browsing, but still distinctive enough to work as a small gift.

Why they’re suddenly getting attention

Products like this often gain traction because they blend familiarity with novelty.

Many shoppers already recognise the cocktail tins from summer picnics, festivals or train journeys. Seeing the same design reappear as a candle makes the product instantly understandable without needing much explanation.

It is also the sort of item people tend to buy as a gift.

The candles launched only a few weeks before Easter, when shops usually fill up with chocolate eggs and seasonal gifts. A novelty candle offers something a little different for anyone trying to avoid the usual sugar-heavy presents.

At the same time, the design is not tied to a particular season, which means it works just as easily as a birthday present, a small thank-you gift or something to take along to a dinner invitation.

How to buy them without paying full price

Even though £10 is already fairly reasonable for a candle, there are still a few simple ways to bring the price down.

The easiest method is to combine loyalty schemes and cashback tools.

Many people now buy retailer gift cards through cashback apps before shopping. Apps such as JamDoughnut often offer cashback when you purchase a gift card, which you can then use immediately to pay in store or online.

The saving might only be a few percent, but it still reduces the price, and every penny counts!

If you are buying online instead, it is worth checking cashback sites such as TopCashback, Quidco, Complete Savings or Rakuten before placing an order. Depending on the retailer promotions running at the time, these sites almost always offer cashback on M&S purchases, of up to 10%, depending on the cashback service.

Marks & Spencer’s Sparks loyalty card is also worth scanning whenever you shop. Sparks occasionally offers personalised discounts, bonus points or future rewards based on your shopping habits.

None of these tricks are life-changing on their own, but combined they can take the edge off everyday spending.

Delivery and click and collect

The candles are available both online and in Marks & Spencer stores (find your local store M&S store) .

Home delivery is available for online orders, although delivery charges now apply for smaller purchases. Standard delivery currently starts from £3.99, while orders over £60 qualify for free delivery.

If you are only buying a candle or two, the cheaper option is usually to choose click and collect. Next-day collection from a local store is free and avoids the delivery fee entirely.

A small gift idea that avoids the usual chocolate

One reason the candles may prove popular is that they fill a familiar gifting gap.

It is surprisingly difficult to find small presents that feel thoughtful without being expensive. Chocolate is often the default option, especially around holidays, but it is not always what people want.

A novelty candle shaped like a cocktail tin sits somewhere in the middle. It is unusual enough to feel like a proper gift, but inexpensive enough to pick up without overthinking it.

They also fall neatly into the category of presents for people who are notoriously hard to buy for; a neighbour, a colleague, a last-minute birthday invitation or a small thank-you gift all fit that scenario.

A growing trend in supermarket homeware

Retailers such as Marks & Spencer have gradually expanded far beyond clothing over the past decade, building out homeware, gifting and food ranges alongside their traditional department store offer.

Part of the strategy is to take familiar items and reinterpret them in new ways. If shoppers already recognise a product, they are more likely to notice it when it appears in a different form.

The cocktail tinnie candles are a good example of that idea. They take something people already associate with summer drinks and turn it into a playful home fragrance.

Whether they become a long-term fixture in the homeware range remains to be seen. For now, they are simply one of those small supermarket launches that catch people’s attention for their novelty, and if you can shave a few percent off the price with cashback or loyalty rewards, they become an even easier purchase to justify.