Yahoo Finance Greggs takes on home of the pasty with expansion into Cornwall
Greggs is cooking up a fresh assault on the home of the pasty, as it sets its sights on expansion in Cornwall.
The bakery chain confirmed it had opened its fourth Cornish site, at the U2 Enterprise Park in Saltash, on Saturday, as it unveiled plans to open 150 stores this year with a focus on the South West.
Roisin Currie, chief executive of Greggs, said the business saw “more scope to open sites” in Cornwall, where the chain only has a small presence.
Greggs, which was founded in 1939 on Tyneside and is popular across the North of England, has faced scepticism from locals fiercely loyal to the traditional Cornish pasty.
Attempts by Greggs to launch in the market have been branded as the “pasty wars”. One resident even previously described Greggs’ own alternatives as the “Devil’s spawn”.
The Saltash store adds to sites Greggs has opened in Truro, St Austell and Launceston. Greggs is known for its popular sausage rolls and steak bakes, although it also produces a beef and vegetable pasty.
The London-listed company will not be selling its own-brand pasties in its Cornish stores, however. Since 2011, the Cornish Pasty has held protected status under food laws, and can only be made to a specific recipe in the historic county.
Locals were unfazed by the new Greggs opening. The chain previously opened a store in Saltash, which sits on the Tamar River near the border with Devon and is known as the “gateway to Cornwall”, in 2018. However it closed just months later.
Steve Baker, of Baker’s Cornish Bakehouse in Saltash, said: “We’ve got a good customer base and haven’t noticed any change. They’re totally different to us, and it is done on a budget but they are charging good money.”
“We’re not worried about it.”
Ms Currie told the PA news agency: “The opening strategy is going to plan and the new location in Cornwall is a key part of that.”
“Obviously we are a brand that started in the North and the natural growth of the business from there means there are some parts of the country, such as in Cornwall and the South West, where we see more scope to open sites.”
Greggs revealed an uptick in sales of nearly a fifth over the start of 2023 as budget meals continued to attract consumers amid the cost-of-living crisis.
While they will not be sold at its Cornish stores, Greggs admits its own beef and potato pasty “controversially” includes peas and carrots.
Mr Baker said: “You don’t want to see carrots in a pasty.”
