Sainsbury's

Sainsbury's On the go

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Introduced:	2019
Removed:	2021
Successors:	SPAR

Official Website:
www.sainsburys.co.uk
Facebook Page
Twitter/X: @sainsburys

Supermarket giant Sainsbury's has made several efforts to get a foot in on the major road network. In 2019, it was introduced to several of EG Group's largest services, under the name Sainsbury's On the go.

The new partnership is focused on its food-to-go line, which is in existing stores under the same brand name. These stores also feature a Starbucks on the Go machine. It is another sign that one of the main focuses of supermarket retailing is now on convenience stores serving people in a rush.

After launching several of these stores in spare units, generally at former Little Chef sites, EG Group have now introduced the 'Sainsbury's On the go' name to the main shopping area of several petrol stations that they run. It had been announced that each store would receive a Krispy Kreme stand too but this is no longer the case.

In March 2020, the first two Sainsbury's On the go store closures happened at Alfreton and Talke, with staff being made redundant. The majority had closed by April 2021, with many becoming SPAR. EG Group's purchase of Asda, which went public in September 2020, gave them further reason to stop using the Sainsbury's brand, with a corresponding 'Asda On the Move' being trialled.

Sainsbury's and Major Roads

Previously, following the success of M&S Simply Food, Welcome Break trialled a branch of Sainsbury's' existing convenience brand Sainsbury's Local at Birchanger Green in 2006. This was closed and they later worked with the more upmarket Waitrose.

Sainsbury's Local then had a partnership with Euro Garages, but again this didn't last long and they became SPAR. The new partnership is with the same company but the offering is more similar to the SPAR model.

Until the 1990s, the Sainsbury's business model included building large supermarkets close to major roads. Despite this, none of them became official service stations, although customers used some of them as unofficial ones.

Locations

Sainsbury's On the go can currently be found at the following services: [refine search]

• Bangor (A5/A55)
• Hogs Back (A31)
• Ross Spur (A449) (south-westbound only)

Former Locations

Sainsbury's has been removed from the following signposted service areas:

• Alfreton (Sainsbury's On the go) (A38)
• Bilbrough Top (Sainsbury's On the go) (A64)
• Birchanger Green (Sainsbury's Local) (M11/A120)
• Canley Ford (Sainsbury's On the go) (A45)
• Countess (Sainsbury's On the go) (A303)
• Ilminster (Sainsbury's On the go) (A303)
• Markham Vale (Sainsbury's On the go) (M1)
• Marston Moretaine (Sainsbury's On the go) (A421)
• Podimore (Sainsbury's On the go) (A303)
• Saltash (Sainsbury's On the go) (A38)
• Shrewsbury (Sainsbury's On the go) (A5/A49)
• Tamworth (forecourt - Sainsbury's On the go) (M42)
• Thorpe on the Hill (Sainsbury's On the go) (A46)
• Thrapston (Sainsbury's On the go) (A14/A45)
• Warminster (Sainsbury's On the go) (A36/A350)