Sainsbury’s has announced plans to transform its eat-in, takeaway and home delivery food and drink offer. The move follows a successful trial of a new food hall format called ‘The Restaurant Hub’ at one of its key stores. In partnership with Boparan Restaurant Group (BRG), ‘The Restaurant Hub’ offers eat-in, takeaway and home-delivered hot food and drink from various popular brands – including Caffè Carluccio’s, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Ed’s Diner and Slim Chickens. Sainsbury’s and BRG plan to open 30 more The Restaurant Hubs in the next. At the same time, Sainsbury’s will also open a further 30 Starbucks coffee shops in its supermarkets in the next twelve months, bringing the total number of Starbucks in Sainsbury’s supermarkets to 60.
Simon Roberts, Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Officer said: “We know that customers like the convenience of being able to have a drink, a snack or a meal while they’re doing their shopping – and that they love the range of food and brands on offer at The Restaurant Hub and from Starbucks. …Through our trials with Boparan Restaurant Group and Starbucks we have learnt that we can offer customers a much better eat-in and takeaway experience working with partners. We are totally focused on improving what we can deliver for our customers and at the same time, working hard to make our business simpler”.
Satnam Leihal, CEO at Boparan Restaurant Group said “The Restaurant Hub allows customers to enjoy multiple brands by placing one order with one payment which can all be enjoyed on site, or all delivered in one bag with just one delivery charge. This gives customers choice that never existed before and we’re delighted to be the first in the market to land this experience with such incredible brands”.
Alex Rayner, General Manager Starbucks UK said “We look forward to building on our existing relationship with Sainsbury’s to bring the safe, convenient, Starbucks Experience to more of their customers, and for our cafes to play an important role as a gathering place within the community. COVID-19 accelerated customer trends towards convenience and as a result we’ve continued to increase investment in new formats and digital channels such as Drive-Thru, delivery, Mobile Order and Pay and our loyalty program Starbucks® Rewards.”
Image: Sainsbury’s
