Coles is trialling the delivery of ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat ranges through a partnership with third-party food ordering and delivery app, Uber Eats.

The trial is initially limited to Coles’ supermarket Pagewood, NSW, and entails a $5 delivery fee per order.

“Coles is committed to making life easier for our customers and we are thrilled to offer our ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat range for delivery for the first time in Australia via the Uber Eats app,” Alex Freudmann, director of fresh food at Coles, said in a statement.

Products available for delivery include roast chicken, deli salads, bakery items, frozen desserts, pizzas, curries and pies, with a range of grab-and-go options and beverages available.

More menu options are set to become available in the coming weeks, according to Jodie Auster, regional general manager for Uber Eats Australia and New Zealand.

Coles’ managing director, now chief executive, Steven Cain hinted at plans to improve the supermarkets convenience offer last year, telling the AFR that he was “fascinated” by the popularity of meal-kits.

“We have as a business moved from a weekly grocery shop many moons ago to people shopping more often for the meal that night,” Cain said.

“Then there’s the younger generation who are increasingly using things like Uber Eats – it’s instant gratification, bring me my meal in half an hour, please.

“The market is moving towards instant gratification and obviously we have to meet consumer needs but we also have to make money on the way.”

Coles has previously partnered with Uber to re-deliver items that may have been left out from Coles Online orders. It has also partnered with Deliveroo to trial the delivery of ‘food packs’ and with Airtasker to allow customers to find someone else to do their grocery shopping.

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