A person paying for a coffee in a coffee shop

Source: Getty Images / Tara Moore

  • Publication date: Wednesday 30 April 2025
  • Editorial submissions deadline: Wednesday 12 March 2025
  • Editorial contact: Amy North, amy.north@wrbm.com

Wage increases, rising commodity prices, and increased competition are just some of the challenges facing operators in the out-of-home market. And yet, some are driving growth with the likes of Greggs and Gail’s among those to rapidly expand their estates over the past year.

This feature will explore all of this and more as it looks to ascertain the state of the out-of-home bakery market and the strategy its top players are utilising to get ahead of the competition.

It will be accompanied by a ranking of the top 75 companies that sell baked goods as a primary element of their food offering in a non-supermarket retail, food-to-go or eat-in format. Businesses in the list include Costa, Subway, Greggs, Cooplands, Birds Bakery, Cooplands, Gail’s, and more.

Key areas this article will explore include:

  • How has the out-of-home bakery market, and its key players, performed over the past year?
  • Many of the firms are on the list are looking to expand their estates. What is their strategy for growth in terms of customer base, site location, type, etc?
  • Is there a critical mass for coffee shops, bakeries, and cafes in the UK? And, how far away are we from reaching it?
  • What are the key challenges facing operators in this market? And what tactics are firms utilising to overcome them?
  • Which channels, such as delivery, travel, out of town, drive-thru etc, present the most opportunities for growth and why is this? What does this mean for the likes of high streets?
  • How are consumers engaging with the out-of-home bakery market? What are the top occasions and types of businesses they are visiting for, and why?
  • What are firms doing to improve loyalty amongst their customer bases?
  • Costs have been rising across – where are the pinch points in 2025?
  • What impact will the increase in National Living Wage have on these businesses?
  • Looking at NPD, what are some of the top new bakery launches in this market this year? Why have they been so successful?
  • What will the out-of-home market bakery look like in the future?