Walk down any high street in the UK and you’ll find a Greggs. Go fill up at the petrol station and there’s one there too.
There’s even a branch in Oxford Street Primark, just in case a sausage roll craving hits while you’re buying pyjamas.
There are more than 2,600 Greggs sites nationwide and the bakery chain is planning to open 140 to 150 new shops in 2025 (and there’s only five months left), with a long-term goal of having more than 3,000.
To put that into context, that’s almost double the amount of restaurants McDonald’s currently has in the UK.
It’s no secret the chain has a huge fanbase, with its number one supporters wearing Greggs underpants and bucket hats and donning Festive Bake jumpers at Christmas time.
Foodie queen Nigella has starred in an ad for the company, Ed Sheeran used to have a ‘black card’ and even the Queen’s son, Tom Parker Bowles loves it, telling Country Life magazine: ‘It’s a mass-produced, ultra-processed mouthful. However that combination of burnished, flaky buff pastry, soft beef and rich, savoury gravy [is] so darned addictive.’
Despite all this hype though, there has been some talk about the UK reaching their limit.
Roughly one million sausage rolls are produced by the bakeries each day, and investors are concerned after a recent slump in sales.
One former investor, who sold their stake in the company, said they felt the expansion plans had become ‘so aggressive’ and there are now ‘just too many’ stores. And they weren’t the only ones who felt this way.
Speaking to Propel, John Stevenson, an analyst from investment bank Peel Hunt, said: ‘Greggs has been a phenomenal UK success story, and it has gone through a period of uber-growth – but peak Greggs is gone.’
Not to be deterred, Greggs chief exec, Roisin Currie, hit back, claiming that we’ve not yet even reached ‘peak Greggs’ – and we can’t tell whether we’re scared, or excited.
As such, the chain plans to move ahead with its expansion strategy, looking specifically at parts of the south of England where it is believed to be under-represented.
There are also new formats being trialled, including ‘Bitesize Greggs’ which are smaller stores serving a reduced range of food and drinks. These will be located in train stations, airports and retail parks.
Customers can also now shop ‘Bake at Home’ frozen Greggs products in Tesco and there’s talk of the bakeries testing out smaller portion sizes to target those on weight-loss drugs.
What do fans really want to see more of from Greggs?
While Greggs is looking to open new stores and offer new concepts, it seems there are a few other things customers would like to see from the chain in the future.
On Reddit, users say Greggs was a ‘nostalgic’ place for them to visit and they’d like to see some discontinued menu items from the 80s and 90s make a comeback.
Popular requests include Bloomer Bread Sandwiches, loaves of tiger bread and pizza baguettes.
Others though have called for ‘change’ when it comes to the quality of ingredients, asking for Greggs to make ‘improvements’.
A user known as u/iMac_Hunt shared: ‘Younger people are more health conscious on average and value quality. Greggs falls down on both categories.’
u/ftatman agreed, writing: ‘They need to improve the quality of ingredients.’
Why is Greggs so beloved in the UK?
The fact that it’s cheap certainly doesn’t hurt. Metro recently examined the prices of sausage rolls in London, with the most expensive being £7 and Greggs being one of the cheapest at £1.30.
Online people also regularly praise the food for being ‘consistent’ and ‘familiar’.
A Reddit user known as u/ThrowawayAcc637628 explained: ‘If I’m going to Greggs, I don’t care about getting top tier gourmet food; I know that they do things I like and that’s good enough. Besides that, it’s cheaper, easier to get to, and pretty consistent no matter where I get it from.’
Similarly, u/xDroneytea said: ‘They’re comforting and hit a certain spot.’
And u/FunYoghurtcloset_652 commented: ‘It’s hot/warm food, it’s reasonably priced [and] you know what you’re getting.’
The words ‘banging’ and ‘delicious’ have also been thrown about on social media, espeically in relation to the chain’s plant-based offering.
Unlike others in the market, Greggs is committed to offering customers who are vegan, vegetarian or flexitarian more choice, so over the last few years have been working to create vegan versions of their bestsellers.
In addition to a vegan version of the iconic sausage roll, they also made a Vegan Steak Bake in 2020, a Vegan Festive Bake and a Vegan Ham and Cheeze Baguette.
Other vegan-friendly items on the menu right now include vegan breakfast rolls, southern fried potato wedges, glazed doughnuts and rice dishes.
Did you know Greggs is the UK’s oldest fast food chain?
Greggs was founded in 1939 by John Gregg, but back then there was no iconic square logo and he didn’t have shops on the high street selling doughnuts, or cheese and bean melts.
The business was much simpler — John and his wife worked as a team delivering baking goods, such as fresh eggs and yeast, to families in Newcastle on a bike.
It wasn’t until 1951 that the very first Greggs Bakery launched on Gosforth High Street, and it was known as Greggs of Gosforth. The shop sold fresh bread and other tasty treats.
John ran the shop until his death in 1964, when the business was taken over by his son Ian, who expanded the brand throughout the 70s, acquiring other bakeries around the country, before going public in 1984.
By 2000 Greggs had more than 1,000 sites across the UK after acquiring the Bakers Oven chain, but it wasn’t until 2008 that they properly rebranded to become the Greggs we all know and love today.
As well as regular shops and cafes, the chain also has a number of outlet stores, where unsold day-old food from other Greggs sites, as well as production sites, is redistributed and sold at a lower price.
Do you have a story to share?
Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
