Andrew Wiseman uses a Greggs chicken roll to show how ideas that make sense on paper do not always work in reality. It is a reminder of the role market research plays in testing whether something truly resonates with customers.
Those who know me well will confirm that I’m a big fan of things enshrined in a blanket of pastry. I’ll happily argue that there aren’t many foods that aren’t enhanced by some shortcrust, puff or filo. Those who know me really well may say my body is a temple to too much pastry. But that’s enough with the self-fat shaming.
I like pastry that much that I once started writing a cover of Coolio’s Gangster’s Paradise, entitled Ginsters Paradise, inspired by a trip to Greggs where there were no pasties or rolls left:
“As I walk up to the counter, making straight for Greggs
I take a look at the shelves and realise there’s nothing left”
Anyway, enough of this preamble. I was intrigued the other week to see that Greggs had launched a chicken roll, to go alongside my personal favourites Corned Beef Pasty (IYKYK) and the ubiquitous sausage roll.
For some reason, the simple thought of a chicken roll made me feel a bit uneasy. Chicken and gravy pie with shortcrust? I’m in. Chicken and leek pie with puff? Still in. I even sometimes have a Greggs Chicken Bake, if there’s nothing better on offer.
But a chicken ROLL?
It raised loads of questions. If it’s just chicken without a sauce, is it going to be really dry? What exactly is the chicken that’s in one of these? It felt like a prime candidate for mechanically recovered stuff that I don’t really want to be eating, although in reality it probably isn’t, thanks very much.
And yet, over the following couple of weeks, the space allotted to the chicken roll in the cabinet was empty. None to be seen. Then this week, I went to my local Greggs and there they were. Despite my misgivings, I took the plunge and switched my sausage roll chaser to a chicken one, alongside my tandoori chicken baguette.
So what’s the verdict? It was hot and fresh, with that tell-tale pastry you’ll know from its sausage sibling. But the filling… it was, well, weird — or well weird, if you prefer.
Was it terrible? No. Was it delicious? Also no. It was just a bit difficult to describe and, as I said before, weird. It’s not having me rush back for another any time soon.
And that’s the point. Because somewhere along the line, someone decided a chicken roll was a good idea.
On paper, you can see it. Chicken sells. And right now, it’s everywhere. Domino’s is pushing further into it, PizzaExpress is leaning into it, and then you’ve got the likes of Wingstop, Slim Chickens, Popeyes and Dave’s Hot Chicken building entire brands around it. It’s become the go-to safe bet, popular, versatile, and having a bit of a moment, which makes it even easier to see how something like a chicken roll gets waved through. That’s not to say Greggs haven’t done their homework, or that this won’t prove to be a long-term fixture. The empty shelves I saw would suggest there’s clearly demand there, even if it didn’t quite land for me.
But it does highlight where things can start to get tricky.
What makes sense in a meeting room doesn’t always translate to real life. Consumers don’t experience products as bullet points on a slide. They experience them as something they eat, feel, question, and judge in seconds.
And sometimes, the reaction is simply: “this is a bit weird.”
This is where market research earns its keep. Not to kill ideas, but to pressure-test them. To ask the slightly awkward questions before your customers do. To sense-check whether something feels right, not just looks right.
Because “would people buy this?” is only part of the question.
The more important one might be: “would people want this again?” or “will this bring new customers into Greggs, or just switch customers from other products”.
Or even more simply: “does this actually make sense to them?”
The Greggs chicken roll isn’t a disaster. But it’s a good reminder that not every logical extension is bound to be a smash hit with consumers.
And that sometimes, just because you can… doesn’t mean you should.