Greggs’ sales surge in cost of living crisis as consumers opt for cheap eats

Bakery chain says selling cheap meals during cost of living crisis helped boost sales

Greggs’ sales have shot up by 15 per cent over the past three months (PA )

Sales at Greggs have surged in the past few months as Britain’s consumers opt for cheaper meals during the cost of living crisis.

The bakery chain said its sales had shot up by 15 per cent over the past three months as food prices and energy bills soar.

Sales slowed during August compared to last year, as people traded pandemic staycations for trips abroad, but the momentum returned in September.

Greggs said the rise in sales comes “in an environment where cost pressures are significant and our outstanding value-for-money positioning is ever more important to consumers”.

The sausage-roll seller also noted that its sales growth had dropped by about 1 per cent when its shops closed for the Queen’s funeral on 19 September.

The high street chain said its total sales had increased by 14.6 per cent over the 13 weeks to 1 October year-on-year, with like-for-like sales in company-managed shops up by 9.7 per cent.

Cost inflation for the year is expected to remain at its previous estimate of 9 per cent on last year, as the retailer faces a surge in the costs of raw materials, production and energy.

In March, Greggs said that rising costs meant it did not expect material profit growth in 2022.

This week, the company introduced a further round of price rises, including for its much-loved sausage rolls.

“We have put a small number of rises across products as of yesterday; we’ve worked hard to mitigate that,” chief executive Roisin Currie told Reuters.

The sausage roll cost £1.05 at the start of the year, but increased to £1.10 in May and is now £1.15.

But Greggs assured shareholders that it had fixed prices for a good proportion of its food and energy costs for the next three months.

The chain has opened 90 new stores this year, and is set to have opened around 150 new stores by the end of the year, including drive-through shops in Amesbury and Durham.