Greggs is set to announce huge profits after in-store sales rocketed to help the baker rise above the high street slump thanks in part to its vegan range.
Greggs shares were almost an all-time high last week, only for them to drop slightly as market fears and the coronavirus impacted on share prices during one of the London Stock Exchange's worst weeks since the 2007/08 financial crash.
But while many high street businesses struggle amid dropping sales and high business rates, Greggs has enjoyed a huge year-and-half, which has seen share prices double.
In the past 18 months, Greggs has won new customers thanks to its vegan sausage roll, released in January 2019, which was followed by the vegan steak bake and vegan doughnut added in January 2020.
Greggs now has more than 2,000 shops around the country, having opened 90 in 2019.
Greggs is set to announce its financial results on Tuesday. Last month, it said it expected to post 13.5% sales growth for the year to December 2019, almost doubling the 7.2% growth from the previous year, Press Association reports.
It is not just the new stores which have led to the sales growth, the boost was mainly driven by higher takings per store.
Greggs said it saw like-for-like sales shoot up by 9.2%, from 2.9% like-for-like growth in the previous year.
The vegan sausage rolls led to a huge sales surge, while Press Association also reports that customers have increasingly visited Greggs' shops to eat its traditional range too.
Greggs has said it will continue look into adding products which embrace a variety of dietary choices and needs so it can satisfy customers who its fast food rivals do not cater for.
Staff at Greggs are set to each get a £600 bonus thanks to the chain's profits .
