Greggs serves up higher sales amid autumn menu launch

Greggs has revealed its sales jumped by more than a 10th in recent weeks as the bakery chain continued its UK expansion and launched a pumpkin spice-inspired autumn menu.

The high street chain has opened more than 150 shops this year.

It said total sales increased 10.6% over the 13 weeks to September 28, compared to the same period a year ago.

September was the strongest month of the quarter amid the launch of Greggs’ autumn menu, which includes the pumpkin spice latte and salted caramel latte in its seasonal drinks range, and a newly introduced pumpkin spice doughnut.

Roisin Currie, the group’s chief executive, said consumers were continuing to “think carefully” about their purchases, particularly following a period of uncertainty ahead of the UK general election.

But she said Greggs was appealing to new customers amid an expanding menu, with the introduction of over-ice drinks in hundreds of shops particularly attracting a younger demographic.

About 20% of all purchases at Greggs are scanned through its loyalty app, Ms Currie said.

Sales across company-managed shops, as opposed to franchises, grew 5% compared with last year and on a like-for-like basis, which strips out the impact of new store openings.

Greggs said it was on track to open between 140 and 160 new shops on a net basis, those opened minus those closed, in 2024.

At the end of September, Greggs had nearly 2,560 stores serving its baked goods across the country.

Openings in recent months included two “drive-thru” sites in Bristol, as the chain hopes to cash in on consumers on the move.

Furthermore, the company said it was expecting the overall level of cost inflation this year to be toward 4%, the lower end of its guidance.

An easing of inflationary pressures has been helped by it fixing costs for things like energy going forward.

Ms Currie said the easing of some costs, such as packaging, was helping offset wage inflation driven by an increase in the National Living Wage earlier this year.

In July, she said this increase, affecting its 32,000-strong workforce, was the biggest inflation cost for the business.