Greggs – riding high after a very successful 2019 and the 2020 launch of the Vegan steak bake – is to work exclusively with food delivery app Just Eat, launching this week in Birmingham and Bristol, before targeting Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham in the spring.
The service is already available in London, Newcastle and Glasgow, where Greggs and Just Eat had trialled delivery last year. National coverage is promised by the end of the year.
Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside says: “We know from the trials we have carried out, that our customers love the idea that they can get Greggs delivered directly to their door and we’re delighted to now be working with Just Eat to provide that service to our customers across the UK by the end of this year.”
Last week Whiteside told City A.M. that Greggs is also planning to extend the operating hours of more of its branches as it seeks to capture the 6pm to 9pm market, which the company hopes will also be a popular delivery time.
“This is an exciting exclusive partnership for Just Eat,” adds Andrew Kenny, Just Eat UK managing director. “Greggs has proved extremely popular with our customers, especially during breakfast, demonstrating that as a nation we love the convenience of getting our favourite food delivered – be it a Greggs bacon baguette and coffee on a Tuesday or your local Thai at the weekend.”
David Nicholls, CTO for Retail and Hospitality, Fujitsu UK, comments: “This signals a changing tide in the fast food industry. The speed and convenience of Greggs’ physical stores is no longer enough and they are missing out on customers who want a similar service in the comfort of their own homes. And innovations in technology are welcomed by customers; our research found the almost half – 40% – of UK citizens believe that retailers have been too slow to make the most of new technologies. A multichannel presence will undoubtedly be a key factor for success for the fast food industry moving forward.”
In a trading update last week the Newcastle-based bakers said it will pay out a £7m bonus to more than 20,000 employees following a “phenomenal” year, which saw the launch of its vegan sausage roll boost profit.
Fujitsu’s Nicholls adds: “Greggs’ partnership with Just Eat indicates that the bakery chain is showing no signs of slowing down. The partnership highlights a growing trend as brick-and-mortar fast food restaurants look to match their physical stores with a strong online presence. The hospitality industry has benefited over the past few years from the speed and convenience of online delivery and Greggs has clearly pinpointed it as an area that can help it continue to grow.”
