Greggs hikes UK menu prices in ‘sneaky’ change as customers left ‘mortified’

Greggs is facing further criticisms after it hiked prices of its menu items with the bakery chain’s chief executive revealing the move was taken to offset higher wages for its workers

Greggs has hiked prices on menu items over the last few weeks in a blow to customers.

The group’s chief executive, Roisin Currie, told the PA news agency that the high street bakery chain has increased the prices of some items on its menu by 5p and 10p in recent weeks. Although she noted that the price of a meal deal has remained the same. Ms Currie did not explicitly say which menu items were affected by the hikes.

Greggs has faced criticisms over the recent years after hiking the prices of its popular baked goods – more specifically, its sausage roll. In 2021, a sausage roll cost just £1, but at the start of 2022, Greggs hiked it to £1.05 followed by a further rise in May to £1.10 in May. In October 2022, the bakery chain increased the price again to £1.15, then to £1.20 at the start of 2023.

Over the last few weeks, Greggs customers have taken to X – formerly Twitter – to share their frustrations over the “sneaky” rises. One X user, reported that the sausage roll in their local Greggs store had risen to £1.50. They wrote: “@GreggsOfficial what’s going on with these prices? 20%-30% price increase on some items! Week ago sausage roll was £1.20 now £1.50 Bacon Wrap was £2.50 ish and now £3. Never liked Greggs any way got an excuse not to go there now.”

Another added: “Greggs sausage roll prices going up AGAIN?”. A third said: “Greggs sneakily put their sausage roll prices up by 5p. Mortified.” Another X user said the price of a steak bake had also risen saying: “Nothing to be smiling about when a Greggs steak bake is now £2.35 swear it used to be £2???”. Another disgruntled X user said: “A good way of measuring inflation is by looking at Greggs’ prices. How can a chicken bake now be over £2?”

Speaking to PA, Greggs chief executive insisted that no more price rises were planned for the rest of the year. Details of the price increases came as the group posted a 16.3% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £74.1million for the six months to June 29 as like-for-like company-managed shop sales jumped 7.4%.

The chain admitted the profit growth was also supported by a “better recovery” of cost inflation than a year earlier. Currie said the group took action to offset higher pay for its 32,000-strong workforce, having raised salaries earlier this year ahead of the increase in the National Living Wage. She said: “The biggest inflation cost right now is the increase in the National Living Wage and making sure our employees get the wage increases that are appropriate. That puts pressure on the cost increases within the business.”