The Great Cornish Bake Off? Greggs faces battle with local pasty makers as it eyes Cornwall expansion | UK News

Greggs says it needs to open new shops in Cornwall and the South West of England – in a transfer that might put the bakery chain toe-to-toe with conventional Cornish pasty makers.

The corporate’s boss, Roisin Currie, says the corporate is on observe to open 150 new retailers nationwide this yr – and will open much more if the precise websites turn out to be accessible.

She says the corporate is especially involved in new websites in Cornwall and different areas of the South West of England.

It’s set to open its fourth store in Cornwall, at a enterprise park in Saltash, right this moment.

However Greggs – based in Tyneside in 1939 and famed for its sausage rolls and steak bakes – will face a aggressive grab-and-go market within the county, the place the Cornish pasty has been a staple for lots of of years.

“The opening technique goes to plan and the brand new location in Cornwall is a key a part of that,” Ms Currie mentioned.

“Clearly we’re a model that began from the North and the pure development of the enterprise from there means there are some components of the nation, resembling in Cornwall and the South West, the place we see extra scope to open websites.”

Greggs presently operates round 2,300 retailers throughout the UK – and hopes to develop to greater than 3,000 as a part of its long-term development technique.

Quite a few new websites within the firm’s development plan goal vacationers and motorists, with openings at forecourts and repair stations.

Learn extra:
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In Might, the bakery chain revealed in Might that gross sales surged by practically a fifth over the beginning of 2023 – regardless of the cost-of-living disaster.

It mentioned its low-cost meals remained “compelling” to cash-strapped shoppers.

“We’re trying very positively in the direction of the summer time and hopefully this heat climate will imply extra individuals out and about, and in the end in search of someplace to eat,” Ms Currie mentioned.