Posted: 01/11/2020

Waitrose remains committed to deli counters amid closures

Waitrose has moved to differentiate itself from rival supermarkets by announcing its commitment to its food service deli counters.

The upmarket grocer said it was offering new products for the Christmas period and relaunching its counter range online.

Jackie Wharton, director of category proposition at Waitrose, said counters remained “a key reason why many people shop with us”.

“Having tripled our slot capacity to over 200,000 orders a week and in light of increased demand for online this year, there is now a huge opportunity for us to offer our counter range on Waitrose.com
and we’re excited to relaunch it at the beginning of next year,” she added.

“Not only do our counters offer the freshest produce available on the market, they provide something special, personalised and more sustainable.”

Waitrose – which launched a Best of British cheese box across 251 stores in May – said it was helping producers reach new customers.

“Having taken the decision to keep our deli counters open broadly throughout this pandemic, and thanks to support from our customers, they are also helping to sustain many of our smallest British suppliers, who otherwise would not have had a route to market this year,” said Wharton.