Best known for its sausage rolls, steak bakes and sugary doughnuts, Greggs isn’t exactly the first place that springs to mind when you fancy a healthy salad for lunch.
In fact, some might say the high street stalwart is more flaky pastry than fresh leaves.
But while salads aren’t strictly new additions to the Greggs menu, with variations having come and gone over the past decade, the food-to-go chain is now officially entering its ‘healthy era’, doubling down on its existing range of leafy salads and pasta bowls with a fresh new lineup.
Last week, the retailer launched a Chicken, Grains & Greens Bowl, a Chicken Caesar Salad with egg, and a Prawn Layered Pasta Salad.
It’s the latest in a series of updates to the menu after Greggs CEO Roisin Currie said in January there was “no doubt” weight-loss drugs had led to people looking for “smaller portions”. The business has previously launched turmeric and ginger shots, protein shakes and an egg pot to reflect “emerging dietary trends”.
Speaking today (12 May), Currie told The Grocer the new lines “tick the boxes in terms of what customers are looking for”.
“We’re making sure that we’re offering healthy choices and following the dietary trends that are out there. The customer is looking for more protein, more fibre, for health and smaller portions,” she said, adding that the Prawn Layered Pasta Salad was particularly “exciting”.
Salad days
Although firmly positioned as a value retailer, Greggs’ caesar salad is priced at £4.25 – a fairly average price point when comparing similar products on the market. Tesco sells its own-brand caesar salad for just £3, while Waitrose’s offering is slightly higher at £4.55.
It’s a different (pricier) story on the high street though, with food-to-go rival Pret a Manger’s range of salads priced at a much steeper £8.30.
Greggs’ caesar salad and grain bowl are also available as part of its £5.25 ‘Big Deal’, which includes a main, side and drink. As a meal deal, the salad offering is pretty competitive. But is this really what Greggs customers are looking for?
With just five products making up the full pasta and salad lineup, it’s a clear signal this is very much a test-and-learn phase for Greggs. If its customers were already looking for salads alongside their five-pack of yum yums, offering a wider selection would be much higher on the retailer’s priority list.
The options themselves also appear to be on the basic side, but Greggs itself admitted to this at launch. “It seems caesar salads are everywhere, so yeah – we did one, too.”
It’s a smart move, particularly in the early stages of a menu update, to ensure appeal to a wider audience. But launching such a well-known (and well-loved) meal, like a caesar salad, means Greggs’ take must either live up to or exceed the quality and taste of competitors’ alternatives – or shoppers will simply go elsewhere.
Greggs in its ‘healthy era’
But while a wider selection of salads or other more adventurous flavours could attract initial intrigue, keeping things simple may be best for the long term. Offering a healthier portfolio will likely make Greggs more competitive in a sector where protein and fitness trends are largely dictating menus – but Greggs isn’t looking to become a salad bar.
Besides, it’s not just health trends that can give Greggs a boost. As noted in its first-quarter results today (12 May), the launch of on-trend iced matcha drinks in February has also proven to be “extremely popular”, marking an important step-change in appealing to new and younger customers.
At the same time, Greggs’ new chicken roll has already been named as a standout performer in 2026, despite only launching in April. It seems that flaky pastry is here to stay after all.
Striking the right balance between healthy eating and comfort foods is where Greggs will find the most space to thrive. Expanding its menu is one thing, but Greggs must be careful not to stray away from its core bakery offering, or risk forgetting the very reason it became a British high street staple to begin with.
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