Eagle-eyed Greggs fans may have noticed their favourite pasty shop has rebranded on their social media platforms this week, renaming themselves (the slightly more upmarket) ‘Gregory and Gregory’.
But don’t worry, your sausage rolls aren’t going anywhere, it was all part of a marketing prank for their new summer menu, to prove to dubious would-be customers that they hold more culinary prowess than just a steak bake.
The new menu, which includes an oriental chicken sticky rice salad, a feta and beetroot dip salad with a roast vegetable grain and their first ever vegan addition - a Mexican bean wrap - was debuted at a foodie festival in London.
But instead of taking their classic white and blue branding, which they worried would have people casing judgements without even trying the food, they went undercover.
Arriving at the three-day gourmet festival, which also featured Michelin starred chefs and Masterchef champions, they served up tapas-style dishes to unsuspecting guests.
In a video, shared on the brand’s Twitter, they showed visitors sampling the food and giving their initial thoughts before knowing the source.
One said: “The avocado is so au fait at the moment, it definitely pops.”
Another, who tried the Mexican bean wrap, said: “I’m not usually a vegan type of person but this is really good.”
Commenting on the salad bowls, one woman said: “It’s got a nice vinaigrette kick, which I like.”
It was only after sampling the food that the staff told people what they were actually eating was from Greggs. Needless to say, they had some shocked reactions. With some people confessing that they would “never go into Greggs”.
People on Twitter praised the move, saying that they always suspected food snobbery was the number one reason people didn’t eat in Greggs.
Other people on Twitter speculated that people might not have been so happy when they got home, finding out that they had been duped.
Malcolm Copland, commercial director at Greggs said: “London is a global gourmet destination from its street food scene to the incredible array of critically acclaimed restaurants – so where better to try out our new lunchtime range?”
Well done Greggs, we love it.