Greggs CEO reveals chain’s original plan for the vegan sausage roll was something VERY different – and fans will not be happy
Greggs‘ CEO has revealed that despite being a beloved staple at the bakery now, there were initially low hopes for the vegan sausage roll when it first came out in 2019.
Speaking to food critic Grace Dent on episode two of Channel 5‘s documentary, Inside Greggs: 24/7, which airs on Friday at 8pm, Roisin Currie admitted that the pastry’s success was beyond unprecedented.
‘Now interestingly when we launched that product, our expectation is it would be a rotational product,’ she admitted.
‘Which means it would probably be in the shop for about 16 weeks and the sales wouldn’t reach the level to be, you know, maintained as a regular product.
‘We’d take it off sale and we’d bring it back at a future point in time.’
Greggs’ CEO has revealed that despite being a beloved staple at the bakery now, there were initially low hopes for the vegan sausage roll when it first came out in 2019. Stock image used
But to everyone’s surprise, the new bakes were absolutely flying off the shelves.
Roisin recounted their monumental success following the launch at the beginning of 2019 – designed to coincide with Veganuary.
She also laughed while remembering the viral moment which saw Greggs social media team butt heads with Piers Morgan, who at the time was a host on Good Morning Britain.
He had famously tried the vegan sausage roll live on air – and spewed it into a bin.
Speaking to Grace Dent (right) on episode two of Channel 5’s documentary, Inside Greggs: 24/7, Roisin Currie (left) admitted that the iconic pastry’s success was beyond unprecedented
‘It absolutely stinks and tastes disgusting,’ he raged. ‘Why would anyone eat this?’
‘He does it, he goes mad, he puts his tweet out, and the team that’s on social media that day just responds with the, “Hello Piers, we’ve been expecting you”,’ Roisin told Grace.
‘And then the conversation just went viral on the back of that.
‘And then what happened was, we had the product on the shelves and if you were a customer at that point, probably over about a four week period, we probably disappointed you.
‘Because every time we got a delivery of vegan sausage rolls into the shop they were sold out within the first hour or so.’
In the episode, Grace also visits a development lab in Newcastle as she learns how Greggs creates its insatiable treats and speaks with the company’s finance director. Pictured on the programme
Roisin added: ‘And as you know now it’s sort of one of our key selling items within the range so it never became a rotational item, it just became a staple.’
By May of 2019, Greggs shares had soared to a record high at the time, after it raised its profits forecasts for the third time that year on the back of ‘exceptional’ sales.
The High Street baker said booming demand for its vegan sausage roll had driven a 15.1 per cent rise in total sales during the first 19 weeks of the year.
Earlier this year the brand unveiled ambitious expansion plans after posting record sales as consumers flock to the bakery chain for sausage rolls and other cheap food.
The group revealed plans to open 150 shops a year, increasing its estate from nearly 2,330 sites to more than 3,000.
And as well as extending opening hours, it also said it’s set to trial 24-hour drive-through sites.
The expansion plans came as Greggs posted a 23 per cent rise in annual sales to a record £1.5billion in 2022.
In the episode, Grace also visits a development lab in Newcastle as she learns how Greggs creates its insatiable treats and speaks with the company’s finance director Richard Hutton about a time when the brand learned how not to do a product launch – the hard way.
- Greggs: Secrets of Their Best Bakes, Friday at 8pm on Channel 5