Waitrose launches fresh sushi counter in Bath store
Waitrose has announced that its Bath store has become the second national supermarket in the UK to offer customers sushi which has been freshly made in store.
The sushi counter has been launched in co-operation with sushi bar and counter operator, Sushi Daily.
The new offering follows the store’s £10 million makeover three years ago which saw the shop triple in size and become one of seven Waitrose Food & Home branches in the UK. The investment also included the introduction a new customer café, a Food to Go area, an olive bar, additional self-service checkouts and the retailer’s scan as you shop service, Waitrose Quick Check.
The Sushi Daily counter will be headed by a team of sushi artisans who will be preparing fresh products in front of customers throughout the day. The product offer consists of a range of hand-made and sustainably sourced sushi and maki.
A dedicated phone line will also be available for customers looking to make larger ‘platter’ orders, catering for meetings and parties.
The first Sushi Daily counter opened last week at Waitrose’s new shop in Battersea and the intention is to roll out to up to 50 branches across the country.
Waitrose Bath branch manager, Nigel Huxley, said: “These are exciting times for our Bath customers and the arrival of the new sushi counter underlines our determination to make sure we continue to improve and innovate.
“Our customers’ lifestyles are changing with the growth of eating on the move – and the investment we have made during last few years has been designed to respond to that shift.
“Customers are increasingly attracted by products that can deliver for them on quality, convenience and health and sushi does this brilliantly.”
Recent data on pre-packed sushi shows that Waitrose has a grocery multiples market share of 18.1%, with year-on-year growth of 13%.
