Greggs is hugely popular in the UK, with Brits loving its affordable and tasty food. The chain sells more sausage rolls than McDonald's sells Big Macs, and key to its success are a number of behind-the-scenes secrets.
Today, there are 2,000 Greggs stores across the UK, hiring 25,000 people - a far cry from when the chain started as a single shop in Newcastle in 1951. Sales have more than doubled in the past ten years and only Tesco and McDonald's sell more takeaway food, the Mirror reports.
Prices have risen recently due to inflation but many people are still devoted to the chain. One thing that keeps everything at Greggs running smoothly is the secret markings on the pasties, which you would struggle to tell apart at first.
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The purpose of this code is for staff to be able to quickly identify what is in a product, as there are so many and they often look quite similar. "This is something I hadn't noticed when I was a shopper at Greggs before I started working there," says former store manager Jamie Dear.
"One of the first things you have to do is learn the markings. And it can only really be done in a textbook style with a list and picture of what it should look like. It's like a new language.
"The corned beef has a zig zag line going across it, the sausage and bean has three horizontal slits, while the ham and cheese bake has a trim round the side with lines across. The cheese and onion bake has got giant Vs and the steak bake has three diagonal slits with a trim around the side."
Former employees have also shared other Greggs secrets, such as why you may sometimes find cold products in stores. "The reason Greggs can have such reasonable prices is they're not charged VAT if they're not keeping them warm. They're just baking them fresh," explains former store manager James Oldfield.
He added that sandwiches are made extremely quickly. “Sixty an hour was the standard,” he said, but he had seen people making up to 90 an hour. Jamie said he could make four baguettes in a minute at his peak.
Greggs puts a huge amount of effort into finding the right location for their stores, having made selecting the right spot “an art form”. The chain uses boot-on-the-ground research to work out where people are hanging around.
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