Cornish Bakery celebrates record-breaking summer trading

Fast-growing independent Cornish Bakery has delivered a record-breaking summer of trading, achieving 24 percent total sales growth year-on-year and strong like-for-like performance, defying wider trends in high street and hospitality.

Against the backdrop of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) reporting a continued decline in retail spend in August, Cornish Bakery has reported an 8 percent like-for-like sales growth (in August), with increases in both customer numbers and average order value, plus its biggest ever week of sales over the August Bank Holiday, with several individual bakeries also breaking their own sales records.

Recent new openings in Hereford and Woodbridge, along with the expanded York Coney Street bakery and refurbished York Colliergate, have exceeded expectations, with long queues and strong sales becoming a familiar sight.

Additionally, customer satisfaction has been highly positive, with the brand’s Net Promoter Score (NPS) rising to 72 percent, based on online reviews across Google and TripAdvisor. Alongside this remarkable success, Cornish Bakery has several new bakeries in the pipeline to open this Autumn and a further five locations are in advanced stages of negotiation for early 2026, further highlighting the company’s ongoing growth trajectory.

Commenting on the results, Mat Finch, Managing Director of Cornish Bakery, said, “Our founder, Steve Grocutt, has long said that ‘Bakery is the new coffee shop,’ and we’re seeing that trend play out. The premium bakery segment is growing faster than traditional coffee shops, and customers are seeking fresher, higher-quality food that’s baked and served on-site, not wrapped in plastic. That’s where we win.”

Mat continued, “We are so proud of our teams for delivering a record summer with strong like-for-like growth, fulsome customer queues at our newest bakeries, and our biggest ever week of sales. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and their passion is what drives our success. Despite wider pressures on the sector, our performance shows that Cornish Bakery continues to grow from strength to strength.”

Cornish Bakery credits its ongoing growth and success to its people-first culture and clear purpose to Nourish People, with investment in training, internal promotions, and recognition programmes. These initiatives have resulted in high employee engagement and recognition as one of the UK’s Best Companies to Work For. Cornish Bakery has recently launched its mission to ‘Change Hospitality for Good,’ with the aim of making the company a world-class place to work.