Sainsbury's hope restaurant-style meals at home will fit the bill

Britain's No 3 supermarket group said yesterday that its revamped "Taste the Difference" range would feature more than 1,100 products, including more than 300 new items, and a "Bistro" range of restaurant-quality starters, main courses and desserts.

"We believe that many people are eating out less, so there is an opportunity to capitalise on this by offering restaurant quality food that can be easily prepared at home," said Sainsbury's commercial director, Mike Coupe.

The announcement came a day after Asda, Britain's second-biggest supermarket group, announced a 100m relaunch of its core own-brand food range, with a focus on higher quality and innovation.

Market leader Tesco has also been expanding its "Finest" own-brand premium range, while the number four, Bradford-based Morrisons, has said it wanted to boost its own-brand products.

"Arguably a new battleground is emerging in the food aisles," said Shore Capital analyst Clive Black.

Sainsbury has been growing market share this year, benefiting from its strength in premium products, according to market researcher Kantar Worldpanel.

However, it faces stiff competition at the top end of the market from premium chain Waitrose, which has also been growing market share. Asda, in contrast, has lagged.

Sainsbury did not say how much it was spending on the relaunch, other than describing it as a multi-million-pound investment in a billion-pound brand.