Greggs increases sausage roll price as cost of living bites again

Greggs has increased the price of a sausage roll by 5p, to £1.35, amid rising business costs and a challenging market.

Latte coffees have also increased by 10p, to £2.25, following a jump in prices of other baked goods and breakfast deals at Britain’s biggest fast food chain in October.

Shares in the bakery chain, which has about 2,740 shops, fell by approximately 8 per cent on Thursday.

The company said that dwindling consumer confidence is having an impact on the sector and guided to flat profit this year.

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Chief executive Roisin Currie said: “We made good progress in 2025, in a challenging year where subdued consumer confidence impacted the food-to-go market.

“Against this backdrop, I’m pleased that Greggs outperformed the wider market and increased its market share of visits.”

The chain was focused on providing value-for-money for those “managing their budgets carefully,” she added.

Greggs reportedly performed better than competitors over Christmas, with total sales increasing by more than 7 per cent over the three months up to 27 December, despite the tough market.

However, like-for-like sales for the full year increased by a mere 2.4 per cent – less than half the growth seen in 2024.

Ms Currie said: “The mood music last year wasn’t a positive one so I think that played into the consumer feeling under pressure. That’s why we’re being cautious about 2026.”

The slowdown at Greggs has led some analysts to say that Britain may have hit “peak Greggs” after previous rapid expansion.

The chain has reportedly been taking action to help mitigate rising business expenses, including higher wages and taxes, and investments into its supply chain.

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Currie said there is “no doubt” appetite-suppressing medication is having an impact on the business as it introduces healthier menu options.

She added: “What we’ve been seeing is people are looking for smaller portions, people are looking for information on areas such as protein and fibre, and therefore we’re making sure that in the breadth of our range we can offer those choices to customers.”

Greggs has sold half a million egg pots since adding them to its range in the autumn and the chain launched an overnight oats product with seeds and dried fruit this week.

It is important for the company, Currie said in July 2024, “to make sure that we’ve got some of the snack products that customers are looking for if they are on any of the GLP-1 drugs.”