Our history

Ten years later, he chained up his bike and opened Greggs of Gosforth. Making, baking and selling fresh bread and tasty treats from his very own shop on Gosforth High Street. There’s still a Greggs there today... although it’s looking a little bit different these days!

Over the years we’ve opened more and more shops across the nation, and have become somewhat of a nation’s sweetheart in communities far and wide. Our menu has also changed with Britain’s taste. The long-standing Greggs fans among you may even remember the olden days before the hotly-debated Vegan Sausage Roll, or our freshly ground Fairtrade espresso.

Yep, we’ve loved rolling through the decades with our customers. But, behind the freshly made sandwiches and golden puff pastry, we’ve always been committed to doing good. Way back in the sixties, we started with our free ‘pie n peas supper’ for older residents in the North East. Today, we’re still as committed as we’ve always been. In February 2021, we launched The Greggs Pledge, declaring ten commitments based on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals to help people, protect the planet and work with our partners to change the world for the better.

Through The Greggs Foundation and with support from over 100 partners, we provide 8 million free wholesome breakfasts to primary school children every year. We’re longstanding supporters of the Children’s Cancer Run and have helped to raise over £40m to fund research into improving recovery rates of children with cancer to date. All of this, and so much more. We love our communities and we’re proud to be able to give back to them.

So, here we are today. With over 2,500 Greggs in the UK, the important stuff still matters to us. We're hard-working, but above all else we're family; and it doesn't matter who you are, where you are from or what your favourite bake is, when you come into our shops, you’re part of the family too.

Watch the video below to see 85 years filled with flavour.