Greggs has reported a rise in sales as new menu items prove popular, while also announcing its first overseas shop launch at Tenerife South Airport. The Newcastle-based food-on-the-go firm revealed results for the first 19 weeks of the year, showing total sales up 7.5% to £800 million.
Strong Sales Performance
Like-for-like sales in company-managed shops grew by 2.5% in the first 19 weeks of 2026, improving to 3.3% in the most recent 10 weeks. The growth was driven by new menu items including a matcha drink, tandoori chicken pizza slice, and the chicken roll – a chicken-based version of its bestselling sausage roll.
Tapping into demand for protein-rich meals, Greggs also launched new salads last week, such as chicken caesar and chicken, grains and greens. The company said its partnerships with franchisees and grocery retailers are progressing well and contributing to overall sales growth.
Profit Progress and Innovation
Greggs noted “encouraging” profit progress in the year to date, partly reflecting a weak comparator period but also good operational cost control. In a trading update, the company highlighted the success of its chicken roll, which quickly became a customer favourite, complementing its iconic sausage roll and vegan roll.
The drinks range has been revitalised with flavour-led innovation across iced coffees, lemonades, and refreshers. The launch of matcha has proven extremely popular, marking an important step in appealing to new and younger customers. Together, these launches reflect Greggs’ focus on relevance and innovation while maintaining the familiar quality customers expect.
International Expansion
Greggs continues to target opening around 120 shops this year, and has announced Tenerife as the location for its first international outlet. In a statement to shareholders, the company said: “In the coming weeks we will open our first shop in an airport outside the UK, working in partnership with leading global travel operator Lagardère Travel Retail at Tenerife South Airport. Tenerife South is a destination for millions of UK and international passengers each year and represents an excellent opportunity to test our offering in an international travel hub.”
The bakery chain, which operates 2,759 shops, also warned of potential higher costs if the Iran war continues. It stated: “We are monitoring the situation in the Middle East and should the conflict continue and become prolonged, we, like all food retailers, will likely see higher overall cost inflation through the end of 2026 and into 2027. In this uncertain environment, our value offer remains highly attractive as customers look to make their money go further.”
