Sainsbury’s, Britain’s third-largest supermarket chain, has announced it is relaunching its £1bn premium own-brand product range following a multi-million pound overhaul.
The retailer’s revamped ‘Taste the Difference’ range will now feature 1,141 products, including 300 new items and a new Bistro line of “restaurant-quality” starters, main courses and desserts, which use “premium” ingredients and the “very best cooking methods”.
Mike Coupe, Sainsburys group commercial director, said that the Bistro range is designed to appeal to the growing number of customers who are looking to save money by eating in.
“We believe that many people are eating out less and less so there’s an opportunity for us to capitalise on this by offering restaurant-quality food that can be prepared easily at home,” he added.
The Taste the Difference relaunch, which also includes revamped packaging, is being backed by a high-profile media campaign featuring TV chef Jamie Oliver. Sainsbury’s will also run a customer and colleague sampling campaign at over 400 stores nationwide.
The announcement comes just a day after rival Asda unveiled a £100m overhaul of its standard own-label food range, which accounts for between £8bn and £9bn in annual sales.
In a bid to improve product quality, Asda has introduced 500 new products, reformulated 1,000 products and re-packaged the remaining 2,500 food and drink items in the range, which will now be called ‘Chosen by You’.
Chief executive Andy Clarke said: “When it comes to our food, we’ve taken a long, hard look at our products, done a lot of listening to our customers and invested a significant amount of time, effort and money.”
“No other retailer has moved so aggressively to seek not just the counsel, but the consent of the very people who buy and eat their products.”