How do you make a success of a high-street food chain in today's climate? Well, vegan sausage rolls look like they might be the answer.
Because while most chains close stores left, right and centre, Greggs is powering ahead - announcing today that it's opening its 2,000th store.
But it's not just vegan sausage rolls turbo charging sales, with breakfast offerings and coffee also boosting the chain's performance.
Gerggs is also focusing more on people grabbing lunch and food on the way too and from work, as well as traditional high street locations.
Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside “As shopping habits and work locations continue to evolve, our expansion plans are reflecting this, we are now opening drive-thru sites, industrial parks, travel hubs and service stations, so its no surprise that our 2000 shop opening reflects this evolution."
John Gregg started out delivering fresh eggs and yeast to the families of Newcastle on his bike 80 years ago.
His bestselling products were yeast, eggs, bread, jam sandwich cakes, steak mince pies and hot cross buns.
Ten years later, in 1952, he opened his first store on Gosforth High Street, Newcastle.
By the late 1970s, Greggs had opened its 100th shop, it took until 1994 for the firm to reach 500 outlets and then doubled that number in just two years.
The 2,000th shop will open at the brand-new South Shields Interchange on Friday 23 August, just a few miles away from its ever first shop - which remains open to this day.
Greggs now produces over 25 million products a week, making two million fresh sandwiches a day in its shops. It sells 1.5 million sausage rolls every week.
Whiteside said: “The north east is where Greggs started its journey, so we’re delighted to be opening our 2000 shop in the North East."
He added: “Our shops have changed a lot over the past 80 years, as we’ve upgraded our estate to offer a more contemporary food-on-the-go experience, but we still remain true to our values today and are proud to serve over six million customers per week.”
