Sainsbury’s is set to partner with food delivery company Deliveroo to deliver freshly baked pizzas and snacks to customers’ homes from five stores across four UK cities.

The trial, which starts today, will mark the first time that a UK grocer has offered hot takeaway food through the food delivery business and will be available to customers near five stores in Cambridge, Selly Oak, West Hove, Pimlico and Hornsey.

Nearly 50 Sainsbury’s products will be offered on Deliveroo as part of the trial, including a range of sourdough pizzas and complementary snacks, sides, salads, dips and soft drinks.

Deliveroo rider and Sainsbury's Groceries Online driver set off from Hor.._

The UK food delivery market is expected to be worth £9.8bn annually by 2021

The grocer said extra staff would “help man the counters which will be staying open later to fulfil customer demand for late-night food and dinners”.

Sainsbury’s said the pilot was part of its “drive to develop and implement digital technologies to improve customer experience” and would help it take a share of the UK food delivery market, which is expected to be worth £9.8bn annually by 2021.

Sainsbury’s chief digital officer Clodagh Moriarty said: “With more and more shoppers looking for convenient and affordable meals delivered to their doors, our trial with Deliveroo brings our great value hot food direct to customers’ homes.

“We’re committed to making it as quick and easy as possible for our customers to shop with us and we’ll be listening to their feedback throughout the trial to understand how we can best serve their hot food delivery needs. We’re excited to see what our customers think before deciding if, how and where we go next with the offer.”

 Deliveroo commercial director Justin Landsberger said: “We’re excited to launch Sainsbury’s on Deliveroo and bring even more choice to our customers around the UK. At Deliveroo we pride ourselves on providing customers with an excellent selection of food options, catering for every occasion and this new partnership will allow us to do that.”

Deliveroo has partnered with a number of other UK grocers in the last few years, including the Co-op and Majestic Wine. It raised a total of £450m in its latest fundraising round, including an undisclosed investment from AmazonThe Competitions and Market Authority said in early July it could possibly launch a probe into any potential deal.