Friday, 13 February 2026 – Sainsbury’s has today announced that its Taste the Difference range has surpassed £2 billion in sales. This milestone reflects a real shift in how customers are shopping with more people choosing premium supermarket ranges to enjoy restaurant quality food at home.
Kantar reports that over half of all grocery spend is on own label1 and Mintel reports that premium own label food and drink launches have almost doubled since 2015, rising from 15 per cent to 27 per cent2. It’s clear that people are turning to supermarkets’ own ranges, like Taste the Difference, for great taste and deliciousness – and as a savvy way to enjoy quality without compromise.
Taste the Difference leads the market as the fastest growing premium range3, and Sainsbury’s reported sales of fresh food in the range grew 15 per cent over the past quarter. More Sainsbury’s customers are trading up to Taste the Difference from by Sainsbury's and the grocer has also grown the number of customers shopping Taste the Difference across both online and in its Locals.
As more and more customers seek delicious restaurant-quality at home for special moments and celebrations, Sainsbury’s has brought back its Taste the Difference Dine In deal for two. Offering a starter, main, side, dessert and drink for £18, the deal features 40 products across the range. Products include Taste the Difference Duck Legs with Cherry Teriyaki Glaze, Taste the Difference Discovery Nduja Cape Hake and Taste the Difference Discovery Espresso Tiramisu.
James Campbell, Director of Food Innovation at Sainsbury’s, said: “Hitting our £2 billion sales milestone early shows just how strongly customers are responding to quality, innovation and great flavour at accessible prices.
“We’re expecting even more customers will celebrate Valentine’s Day at home this year. People still want that restaurant-quality experience, but they’re looking for it at great value and that’s exactly what Taste the Difference is designed to deliver. This Valentine’s Day, customers can treat themselves to dishes from our Discovery range as part of the dine in meal deal for two.”
Sainsbury’s remains committed to offering great quality and value through initiatives such as Aldi Price Match, Nectar Prices and personalised Your Nectar Prices. These programmes ensure customers can enjoy premium products at affordable prices, every time they shop. In fact, over 60 per cent of our customers shop both Aldi Price Match and Taste the Difference in the same basket, showing how people are mixing and matching to make their budgets go further.
ENDS
About Sainsbury’s
Offering delicious great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority and our purpose is clear – we make good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone, every day.
Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Nectar, Tu Clothing, Habitat, Sainsbury’s Bank and Smart Charge. Sainsbury’s has almost 600 supermarkets and over 800 convenience stores. Argos is a leading digital retailer and is the third most visited retail website in the UK, with over 70 per cent of its sales starting online. Argos is conveniently available for customers to collect from hundreds of Sainsbury’s stores. Digital and technology enables us to adapt as customers shop differently and our profitable, fast-growing online channels offer customers quick and convenient delivery and collection capability.
About Taste the Difference
Taste the Difference is Sainsbury’s premium own label food range, offering restaurant quality flavours and ingredients at accessible prices.
Launched in October 2000, it transformed the way people think about supermarket food. It was the biggest food brand launch UK retail had seen, built around products grown and made with extra care and attention to bring out their full flavour. This promise still holds true today but Taste the Difference has grown to mean more than that. It’s about discovering the joy of great food, trying exciting new flavours and recreating the feeling of dining out in the comfort of your own home.
1Worldpanel by Numerator Panel, City Read, Premium Own Label, Total Market, 12 weeks to 25 January 2026
2Mintel GNPD, November 2015-October 2025
3Worldpanel by Numerator Panel, Total Fresh & Grocery exc. Kiosk, Premium Own Label tier (excl. Premium Plus tier), Value growth YoY, 16 weeks to 28 December 2025