Sausage rolls and pizzas are fast gaining in popularity as cost-conscious Britons search for cheaper alternatives to their regular consumption, according to Domino’s Pizza, the pizza delivery chain, and Greggs, the high street bakery.

In a sign that gourmet sandwiches and luxury chocolate could be falling out of fashion among consumers worried by the deepening recession, both Domino’s and Greggs delivered strong comparable sales growth over the Christmas period while revenues fell at more upmarket food retailer Marks and Spencer’s Simply Food and Thorntons, the confectionery chain.