Greggs 'knocks McDonald's off top spot' as breakfast rolls bring home the bacon

05 March 2024 , 22:30

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Greggs' bacon sandwiches have seen it crowned the UK's top breakfast café chain (Image: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Breakfast rolls are helping Greggs make lots of dough… while knocking McDonald’s off top spot for early morning snacks.

The bakery, better known for sausage rolls, claimed bringing forward opening times to 5am or 6am in some shops has boosted its share of all morning visits for food to 19.6%. It has used meal deals and its popular bacon roll to win a new wave of breakfast custom.

Greggs chief executive Roisin Currie said: “We have been number one for a number of months. We have more consumers eating breakfast out of the home.”

The Newcastle-based firm announced 25,000 workers would be sharing a £17.6million bonus pot after it notched up record annual profits, rising from £148.3million to £167.7million. Sales jumped by a fifth to more than £1.8billion.

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Greggs hands around 10% of profits each year to staff who have done at least six months. Ms Currie had a reward for shoppers, too, after confirming she had no plans for more price rises this year, despite its costs going up by between 4% and 5%.

Greggs is rapidly opening new stores and had 2,473 by the end of 2023. It plans to add between 140 to 160 outlets this year, creating more than 1,400 jobs. And there was “clear opportunity for significantly more than 3,000 UK shops over the longer term”.

Graham Hiscott