Sainsbury’s has held talks with Uber Eats about launching a delivery service enabling customers to order convenience staples.

Sainsbury’s, which had planned to merge with rival Asda until the deal was stymied by the competition authorities, would supply products such as bread and milk through the service, The Telegraph reported.

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We talk to many companies about potential partnerships that could help our customers access convenient and affordable products.”

The possible link-up reflects both the blurring of traditional grocery with takeaway eating and the trend among retailers to forge alliances with the new generation of food delivery services.

Sainsbury’s is already piloting a pizza delivery service with Deliveroo. Morrisons is free to develop relationships with food delivery firms after relaxing terms with partner Ocado, following a fire at the latter’s Andover warehouse, and already sells through online giant Amazon.

In May this year, Amazon invested in Deliveroo, becoming its biggest stakeholder. However, that deal is being investigated by regulator the Competition and Markets Authority.

Tech. 2019

Toussaint Wattinne, general manager UK and Ireland of Uber Eats, will be speaking at Tech. 2019 in London in October. To see the packed programme and buy tickets visit www.tech-festival.com