The supermarket has been a sore subject for Brits since they became commonplace across the UK through the twentieth century, with many lamenting the decline of local butchers, fishmongers and grocers in step with their rise.
It didn't take long for the big supermarket chains to become the one-stop shop for everything from fresh salmon to crusty baguettes baked before your eyes - and that's before you factor in the clothing, electrical good and homeware you often find in some of the larger stores.
Some offered something of a compromise with speciality food counters, which flog the likes of rotisserie chicken and even handmade pizzas.
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However, it now seems as though these could be going the same way as their traditional counterparts, with Sainsbury’s being the latest to announce it’s chopping some fresh food counters from its stores.
It’s an attempt to ‘drive growth’ as all things seem to be, with Sainsbury’s deciding to cut its patisserie, hot food and pizza counters.
This will presumably reduce staffing costs, as well as expand the available space for more shelving and expanded food options.
Sainsbury’s first announced these plans in a financial report released in early 2025, with that report noting the propose move could ‘drive growth and availability at a reduced cost to serve’.
The supermarket chain will continue to provide hot food options to shoppers through new ‘On the Go’ hubs which will be introduced from autumn 2025. Food typically served at the soon-to-be-closed counters will be provided in self-serve cabinets, according to The Express.
Sainsbury’s confirmed in 2025 that it will close all of its in-store cafes too, resulting in 3,000 lost jobs.
Those redundancies accounted for around 2% of its 148,000 head count nationwide, with Sainsbury’s saying it was a necessary move in the challenging economic environment in which we seem perennially stuck.
"In January, we announced a number of propositional changes to food services in our stores in order to drive growth and availability at a reduced cost to serve, allowing us to create further space to offer more fresh food ranges," Sainsbury’s said in a press release earlier this year.
It continued: "From the Autumn, we will create new On the Go hubs with flexiserve hot food offerings, delivering an improved customer experience."
Sainsbury’s has set a £1,000,000,000 target for cost savings by March 2027, indicating that further cuts are likely on the way.
"We've transformed our business over the past four years,” said Simon Roberts, Chief Executive of J Sainsbury plc. “We have created a winning combination of value, quality and service that customers love, investing £1 billion in lowering our prices."
He continued: "More people are choosing Sainsbury's for their main grocery shop as a result, delivering our highest market share gains in more than a decade. We are committed, above all else, to sustaining the strong competitive position we have built - consistently giving customers the great value they have come to expect from Sainsbury's - and we expect to continue to outperform the market."
Rachael Davis