Greggs is cashing in as popular new products, including mac and cheese, go viral on social media.

The group said ‘innovation is playing its part’ as sales in the 20 weeks to May 17 were 2.9 per cent higher than the same period last year.

Recent products to fly off the shelves across its 2,638 stores include new pizzas, chicken goujons and iced drinks such as peach tea and mint lemonade. 

A £4.55 box of mac and cheese has proved especially popular – with customers raving about the pasta on social media. The company last month rolled the product out to every store after it went ‘viral on Tik Tok’, the chain said.

‘We launched mac and cheese earlier this year and our customers are loving it,’ said boss Roisin Currie.

Greggs has hailed ‘better trading conditions’ in the past three months.