Inside a bakery / coffee shop

Source: Getty Images / 10’000 Hours

  • Publication date: Wednesday 29 April 2025
  • Editorial submissions deadline: Friday 27 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. 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?
  • What are the firms plans for their estates? If they’re looking to expand, what strategy are they employing for this 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?
  • How does this differ between family-owned craft bakeries and national chains, for example?
  • 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 part does coffee/hot beverages have to play in this market? How are operators changing their menus with this in mind?
  • What are firms doing to improve loyalty amongst their customer bases?
  • Costs have been rising across – where are the pinch points in 2026?
  • 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?