Sainsbury's has relaunched and expanded its online food-to-order service. The "bespoke" Occasions by Sainsbury's service allows shoppers to order things such as sandwich platters, party food and cakes, and replaces the supermarket's previously separate service, Occasions Made Easy.

Previously, occasion orders had to be made via a separate food-to-order microsite. However, with the service now being integrated with Sainsburys.co.uk as a "one-stop shop," customers can place orders alongside their regular online shop.

Occasions by Sainsbury's has also been enhanced to offer premium fresh meat and fish, similar to the service that Sainsbury's once offered via its fresh counters in stores, reports The Grocer.

This "online-exclusive" service will allow customers to order "specialist and premium" cuts of meat in advance, including a Taste the Difference Lamb Guard of Honour and Large Beef Chateaubriand.

Sainsbury's also has a new supply partnership with Plymouth-based Sound Seafood to source "wild-caught fish and seafood", which can be delivered straight to customers' doors.

Rhian Bartlett, chief commercial officer at Sainsbury's, said: "At Sainsbury's, our ambition is to be customers' first choice for food.

"We know our customers lead busy lives, with many citing lack of time as a barrier to hosting, and we're here to make the precious time spent together as easy as possible when it comes to entertaining.

"Taking inspiriation from this insight, we've launched the new Occasions by Sainsbury's range, to offer delicious, quality, convenient options to our customers for any occasion. Our new butcher and specialist fish services perfectly complement this, offering bespoke, made-to-order food that can be ordered directly from our online grocery site, creating a new level of convenience for our customers with everything in one place."

The range will continue to serve its seasonally standard range of "ready to serve" sandwich platters, pizzas, cakes, and salads.

However, it will now be expanded in reflection of its range of products that are available in store, offering sushi, pies and curries that customers will be able to order up to four days in advance, either for delivery or collection.

Sainsbury's aims to have more than 200 products available by the end of the year. It is part of the supermarket's "mission-based" strategy for stores and the ongoing Next Level Strategy. It aims to make online service "easier to shop" and more "convenient".