Merchant Gourmet and Waitrose Team Up to Launch In-Store Grain & Graze Counter

Merchant Gourmet, the market-leading healthy pulses, grains, seeds and nuts brand, has announced a partnership with Waitrose to bring shoppers in Salisbury an exclusive healthy eating pop-up counter.

For a limited time, foodies and fans of the Merchant Gourmet range will be able to visit the Grain & Graze counter for healthy and delicious food as well as step-by-step recipe cards, with dishes including Quinoa Porridge, Puy Lentil and Sausage Hot Pot, Smoky Spanish Grains and Chorizo Paella, and the famous Beluga Lentil Brownie.

The new venture seeks not only to promote healthy eating to Waitrose customers with convenient and delicious food ready on-the-go, but monumentally marks the first time Merchant Gourmet has entered into a partnership with an external brand to serve customers outside of its London store.

The launch comes just 7 months following the opening of Grain & Graze in Islington, Merchant Gourmet’s flagship pop-up store offering dining, cooking demonstrations and masterclasses to foodies in the capital, which has been an incredible success since its September launch.

The Waitrose Grain & Graze counter will be open in Salisbury for shoppers to visit Monday to Saturday from 7.30am-7pm, and 9am-4pm every Sunday.

Clive Moxham at Merchant Gourmet, said: “We’ve been told time and time again that one of the biggest struggles for busy workers and families on the go is trying to stay healthy whilst out and about. Fast food is always an option… but when we want to fuel our bodies quickly with nutritious ingredients and minimal fuss, what’s the option? That’s exactly how Grain & Graze in London was born last summer, and now we’re incredibly excited to bring this ethos to Salisbury. This brand new venture with Waitrose is such a natural fit and we can’t wait to see how customers react following the official opening at the end of the month”.

Simon Burdess, Director of Food Service at Waitrose, said: “We know from the category research that Waitrose over indexes in sales of pulses and grains and that our customer base is getting more and more into making delicious and healthy food. The Grain & Graze pop up gives us an ideal opportunity to gauge their appetite for this cuisine in our Food Service operations. Balancing the desire for a treat and eating something healthy has traditionally been a challenge for us, so finding a solution is at the top of our aspirations when it comes to new product development”.

Source: Merchant Gourmet

  Food, Grain & Graze, healthy, In-Store, Launch, Marketing, Merchant Gourmet, pop-up, Salisbury, UK, Waitrose