Greggs has revealed improved trading momentum in an update released on Tuesday, with total sales up 7.5% to £800m in the first 19 weeks of 2026 and like-for-like growth accelerating through the period.
The sausage roll specialist has suffered a prolonged period of crumbling sales growth, which is now showing signs of heating up again.
Company-managed LFL sales rose 2.5% year-to-date, but the more encouraging number is the 3.3% LFL in the most recent 10 weeks.
This is a welcome improvement, helped by menu development.
The new Chicken Roll, launched in April, has quickly become a customer favourite according to Greggs, and the Matcha drinks launch is doing well at drawing in younger customers. The salad and pizza ranges have also been refreshed.
Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro, says: “After shares lost roughly half their value between late 2024 and 2025, investors have been looking for signs that Greggs can steady both trading momentum and sentiment.”
“This update goes some way towards doing that, with improving like-for-like sales, solid cost control and management sticking to full-year guidance despite an increasingly fragile consumer backdrop.”
The shop rollout remains on track, with 41 gross openings and 20 net new shops taking the estate to 2,759.
The full-year target of around 120 net openings is unchanged. International ambition is also moving forward, with the group set to open its first overseas airport site at Tenerife South in partnership with Lagardère Travel Retail.
On costs, the outlook is unchanged at around 3% LFL inflation. Helpfully, Greggs is well-hedged: around five months of cover on food and packaging, 85% of 2026 energy and fuel requirements fixed, and roughly half of 2027 already locked in.
Management did flag that prolonged Middle East conflict could push inflation higher into late 2026 and 2027, but for now the picture is stable.
The supply chain investment programme is also progressing to plan, with the new Derby frozen manufacturing facility coming online in 2026 and the Kettering National Distribution Centre in 2027. Costs from Derby will weigh more on H2 as previously flagged.
Good H1 profit progress is expected, with full-year expectations unchanged. This was a confident update from a business that hasn’t had its easiest times of late.