GREGGS’ entry into the early morning battleground has proved a success with millions of breakfast butties sold.

Since starting to offer bacon and sausage sandwiches at 1,250 of its 1,400 stores in February, the Newcastle-based bakers has sold more than two million breakfasts.

This has contributed to a total sales increase of 2.6 per cent and like-for-like sales growth of 0.6 per cent in the 18 weeks to May 8.

The overall UK breakfast market is estimated to be worth nearly £300m, and in the past two years, the major “food-on-the-go” outlets have stepped up their pursuit of early morning customers.

Greggs’ chief executive Ken McMeikan said he was not looking at it as a new battleground, but rather a way of maximising the pre-9am market where previously only a small percentage of its sales had come.

He said: “There was a growth opportunity, the shops were open, they were staffed, what they needed was a good breakfast range.

“It is an alternative product they might not have bought if we didn’t have the offer available.”

Mr McMeikan said there were plans to introduce further products into the breakfast range but remained tightlipped on what they might be.

He said: “I am trying to play my cards close to my chest. If we let our competitors know about products before we launch then they have an unfair advantage.”

In the past two years, KFC has launched a breakfast menu and Burger King overhauled its offering, while Mc- Donald’s have offered a breakfast range for some time and JD Wetherspoon pubs open to sell breakfast.

Mr McMeikan also said Greggs planned to introduce some football-themed products to coincide with the World Cup, adding: “A lot of our existing products fit well with sitting enjoying the match.”

He said: “I am very pleased with our sales performance which has continued to show positive growth.

“I am particularly pleased with this performance as we continue to show growth in sales against our strongest period of like-for-like sales in 2009.”

A national TV advertising campaign has recently been launched and the company remained on track to open 50 to 60 shops this year, creating between 500 and 600 jobs, and complete 120 refits.