Sainsbury’s Wants to Open Superrestaurants in its Supermarkets

Sainsbury’s supermarkets wants to open (super)restaurants in its supermarkets, and sell the food on restaurant delivery platforms Uber Eats and Deliveroo. The brand sees the strategy as fertile as it tries to recover from its blocked, £12 billion value merger with fellow supermarket giant ASDA, according to the Telegraph.

The supermarket introduced a pizza delivery trial with Deliveroo just last week, but this new initiative would see restaurants open inside supermarkets, rather than leveraging existing hot food counters and takeaway options. It is also reportedly working on a tie-up deal with Uber Eats that would see a small-scale, staple grocery delivery service branch out from the supermarket’s own delivery platform.

This is all taking place in two key contexts: the failed merger with ASDA, and the need for restaurant delivery platforms to establish partnerships with income sources outside restaurants. While the supermarket’s profits took a — minor, for them — £46 million hit, its reputation in the sector was hit harder, and this visible innovation is perhaps a bid to show some muscle. Uber Eats and Deliveroo, meanwhile, are soon to exist in a market dominated by Just Eat’s merger with Takeaway.com, and clearly see supermarkets as a viable growth opportunity.

More soon.