Doughnuts fatten up profits for Greggs

The introduction of a range of doughnut has helped high street baker Greggs dodge the financial dire straits afflicting so many other businesses.

The company has sold more than 1.4 million of its new ‘Superstar’ doughnuts in the five weeks since their introduction. Chief executive Ken McMeikan says, “Customers are telling us that there is enough to be depressed about with lower disposable incomes, concerns about jobs and concerns about the economy. When they come to us it is nice if they get something that is fun and inventive.”

The Superstar doughnut range includes Jaffa Cake, strawberry milkshake, triple choc vanilla and coconut snowball flavours. They are already proving as popular as the baker’s standard jam doughnut and have been marketed with an X Factor-style campaign on Facebook, with the Jaffa Cake variety winning “Greggs Superstar Doughnut of 2011”. In all, the company reported a 5.4% rise in total sales in its third quarter.