06 January 2023 , 12:16
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We are all aware of the high inflationary times we currently live in, but nothing represents it more than the price of a Greggs sausage roll.
Sadly, the popular pastry chain has had to push up the price of its lunchtime snack again, taking it to £1.20 this month, from £1.15 before.
The increase is the fourth price hike Greggs customers have seen since 2021, when the sausage roll cost just £1.
At the start of 2022, Greggs charged £1.05 for its sausage rolls, but upped it to £1.10 in May. In October the bakery chain increased the price to £1.15.
Greggs said the price increase to its popular snack was influences by inflation (Bloomberg via Getty Images)In the years previous, you were able to grab the popular snack for just 85p in 2016, and 90p in 2017, before it hit the £1 mark in 2021.
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Greggs admitted that inflation continues to hit its prices, with the group seeing its costs up by about nine per cent on average over 2022, compared with the previous year.
However, Gregg Roisin Currie, Greggs CEO, said that even though consumers are facing cost-of-living pressures, its meals remain "good value" and therefore attractive to customers.
She emphasised that it was “too early to tell” how cost inflation will pan out this year, but expects it to be a similar situation to last year.
This hints that the bakery chain could implement further price rises in the future.
This would be another blow to Greggs customers who, in some city centre locations like London, pay a monumental £1.45 for a sausage roll.
On top of that, Greggs has revealed it'll be extending the opening hours of more of its stores with 500 sites ,currently open until 8pm and beyond.
Most of Greggs's shops are open until 5.30pm or 6.30pm. However, the firm started to extend its opening hours last year as it started to introduce an evening menu that featured the likes of pizzas, sharing platters, and hot desserts.
Greggs has not specified which sites will take on the extended opening hours. However, Roisin Currie said the "early-evening is not the fastest growing daypart" for the bakery chain.
The firm has also said it plans to open a further 150 new stores this year, after having a quite successful 2022.
Yesterday, Greggs announced that its sales have surged by nearly a quarter throughout last year to hit £1.5billion, up from £1.2billion it made in 2021.
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