Greggs (LON:GRG) has said that the launch of its vegan sausage roll helped boost an exceptional sales performance.
In the seven weeks to 16 February, like-for-like sales surged 9.6%. The launch of its vegan sausage roll and the subsequent publicity surrounding it, helped boost sales as the baked goods company delivered a very strong start to the year.
The vegan-friendly sausage roll is made from meat substitute quorn. It was launched at the start of the year as part of the Veganuary campaign.
Greggs has said that social media channels played a fundamental role in driving its brand awareness strategy. The recent vegan-friendly sausage roll campaign had a strong online presence and was boosted by engagement on social media.
Veganuary is a campaign that encourages consumers to lead a vegan-lifestyle for one month. In this month, consumers are able to observe the health benefits that come with the lifestyle for themselves. Restaurants up and down the country added special vegan-friendly products to their menu for the month as part of the campaign in order to cater for the consumers taking on the challenge.
Hundreds of thousands of vegan sausage rolls were sold in the first week of the product’s launch.
“Whilst there are significant uncertainties in the months ahead, Greggs has started 2019 in great form, helped in part by the publicity surrounding the launch of our vegan-friendly sausage roll,” Chief Executive Roger Whiteside said.
The retailer outlined the growing consumer interest in healthy food choices and the environment which, as a result, is driving the demand for on-the-go snacks that suit different dietary requirements, such as veganism.
The company has said that it has a key role to play in encouraging the turn to healthier food options. It is widening its range of products as gluten-free and vegan-friendly snacks hit its shelves. These products sit alongside Greggs’ Balanced Choice range that offers snacks with less than 400 calories and have strong nutritional values.
Greggs is not the only food retailer to alter its product portfolio to meet the growing health consciousness of consumers.
Last year, the food confectionary business Nestle (SWX:NESN) announced that it was set to make additional cut to sugar, salt and saturated fat quantities in its products, in an attempt to draw in more health-conscious customers. Pepsi also announced that it would purchase the drink-machine maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion to compete against rival Coca-Cola for healthy beverages.
Despite the success of its vegan sausage roll, Greggs has warned of the potential disturbance Brexit could have on its business. The company is stockpiling materials with a long shelf life in case a no-deal disrupts imports.