Lighter-calorie bites put Greggs on a roll
Bakery chain Greggs says it is attracting more women who are buying healthier sandwiches and salads and contributing to tastier profits.
The group has 1,661 stores on high streets and, increasingly, in motorway service stations and industrial estates.
A new range of sandwiches under 400 calories, salads and pasta pots had helped profits climb 48 per cent to £16.9million in the 26 weeks to June 28. Total sales rose 3.1 per cent to £373million with sales up 3.2 per cent at sites open at least a year. It said trading has also proved strong this month.
Extending trading hours and opening more shops on Sunday also proved popular with Greggs customers
Finance director Richard Hutton said: “We are broadening our appeal with more women, especially, being tempted in by our lower-calorie ranges. The weather has also been ideal. We don’t like extreme weather. If it’s too cold people don’t come in and if it’s too hot people stop eating!”
Extending trading hours and opening more shops on Sunday also proved popular. The best seller remained its sausage roll.
Hutton said consumers were also feeling more confident but cautioned that it faced tough comparisons with last year’s strong second half.
Shares rose 20½p to 520½p.
