Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll Launch

Greggs' marketing team has acknowledged that the launch of its divisive vegan sausage roll has tapped into a very British “cultural moment” after setting social media alight and igniting the ire of Piers Morgan. Neil Knowles, digital brand manager at Greggs, talked The Drum through the campaign developed by the baker’s in-house marketing team and agency partners, Havas PR and Splendid Communications. The brief was to launch the product as ‘premium and desirable’ and tap into 'Veganuary' as consumers solidify (or break) their new dieting and eating resolutions. The launch video has received 4.86m views on Twitter, 1.2m on Facebook and 14,000 on YouTube, parodying an overly dramatic smartphone launch. Vice taste-tested both products against each other, playing into the debate that followed.