Supermarket chain Morrisons has revealed plans to launch its own range of freshly made sandwiches in bid to capitalise on the growing food-to-go market.
It said it would train around 1,000 staff to make and sell an estimated three million sandwiches a year, using a range of different breads baked in-store and fresh ingredients from its Market Street area.
The retailer said the move would make it “the first of the big four supermarkets to go head-to-head with high street ‘designer’ sandwich chains”.
Britain’s food-to-go market is now worth around £6bn, with the sandwich market worth around £2.8bn alone.
Morrisons said that supermarkets’ “limp and soggy” pre-packed sandwiches were putting consumers off, with research showing that 62% of people would eat more sandwiches if they were made freshly.
Evonne Hannar, Morrisons’ fresh provisions director, said: “Our team can make a fresh sandwich just as well as the high street chains.”
Under chief executive David Potts, who took over earlier this year, the struggling supermarket chain has recently sold its convenience chain and made head office job cuts.
In its interim results for the half year to 2 August, the supermarket said total turnover fell 5.1% to £81bn, while store turnover, excluding fuel, was down 1.1% to £6.4bn.
No comments yet