Britain’s biggest bakery and fast-food chain, Greggs, says softer consumer confidence is the main reason behind its recent slowdown in sales growth, pushing back
against concerns that weight-loss injections are denting demand for its high-calorie staples.
The company’s shares have fallen around 25% over the past year, with some analysts pointing to the rapid rise of appetite-suppressing GLP-1 drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy. The fear is that fewer customers are indulging in Greggs’ best-known products — from sausage rolls and steak bakes to sweet treats.
But chief executive Roisin Currie told Reuters that the impact of weight-loss medication on sales is minimal compared with broader economic pressures.
“For us, we believe it’s small — macroeconomic factors are definitely the much bigger issue,” Currie said, adding that demand for weight-loss drugs represents only a minor shift within wider dietary trends.
Instead, she pointed to longer-term changes in eating habits, including growing interest in higher-protein, higher-fibre and healthier options — areas Greggs has been expanding into for several years with products such as egg pots and overnight oats.
The comments come as the company reported like-for-like sales growth of 1.6% in company-managed shops during the first nine weeks of the year, slowing from 2.9% in the Christmas quarter.
The wider retail backdrop remains challenging. Industry data published last week showed British retail sales fell sharply in February, a decline retailers partly blamed on persistent wet weather that pushed more shoppers online.
Despite the slowdown, Greggs continues to expand aggressively. The chain now operates more outlets in the UK than **McDonald's**, after opening a net 121 new stores in 2025 to reach a total of 2,739 locations.
Some analysts have suggested the UK market may have reached “peak Greggs” following years of rapid expansion. The company, however, remains confident, targeting another 120 net new stores in 2026 and trialling a smaller “bitesize Greggs” format. Management believes there is still capacity for more than 3,000 outlets nationwide.
Financially, Greggs reported a 9.4% drop in underlying pre-tax profit for 2025, down to £171.9 million, despite total sales rising 6.8% to £2.15 billion. The group has reaffirmed its outlook for 2026, forecasting profits broadly in line with 2025, with any upside dependent on an improvement in consumer confidence. Photo by N3ws0fa, Wikimedia commons.