Pret a Manger to test £6–£7 lunchtime 'meal deal' in bid to rival supermarkets

Pret a Manger will next week begin testing its first-ever lunchtime meal deal, offering a sandwich, crisps and a drink for between £6 and £7 as it seeks to compete with supermarket meal deals and sharpen its value proposition.

The sandwich-and-snack lunch offer will be trialled in about 70 stores starting Sept. 16 and will run during the final three months of the year, the company said. A morning deal combining a coffee and croissant will also be tested, with prices expected to range from £4 to £5. Pret said it will try different price points during the trial to assess customer response.

Chief Executive Pano Christou said the chain's priority is "offering great value for money" as part of a medium-term strategy to grow the brand and return to sustainable profits. He argued the Pret offering differs from supermarket meal deals because Pret prepares food in its shops. "The difference with the Pret meal to others — they're buying a product that's been made hundreds of miles away, many days ago. Our products have been made meters away, minutes ago. So, the freshness of our ingredients is unparalleled to those others," he said.

Supermarkets have long dominated the low-cost meal deal market in the U.K.; Tesco recently raised its standard meal-deal price from £4 to £4.25, and adjusted member pricing has also risen. Pret has so far resisted the format but said the trial represents a move to "double down" on delivering strong value to customers.

The move comes as the chain grapples with significant losses and a wider programme of operational change. Pret reported a pre-tax loss of £525.2 million for the year to Jan. 2, after a £552.9 million non-cash write-down tied to a reassessment of the company by owner JAB. Adjusted earnings before certain items rose 36% to £98 million, while total revenues slipped 4.2% to £868.4 million and like-for-like sales grew 2.8% as Pret expanded internationally.

Pret has been revising its customer subscription and loyalty offers in the past year. The company moved away from a higher-priced annual subscription toward lower-cost "club" options, and more recently introduced a monthly option offering discounted drinks. The retailer has said it will continue to focus on pricing and promotions that drive transactions.

The chain has also been expanding its footprint: Pret said its store estate grew 11% to 717 locations. Christou said he believes the business can expand from about 500 U.K. sites to between 1,000 and 1,500 in time, with particular emphasis on city centres, travel hubs and roadside locations.

Analysts and operators in the sector have flagged rising costs and shifting consumer behaviour as pressures on hospitality chains. Pret’s stated strategy to test value-led offers follows a wider industry trend of targeting convenience-focused workers and commuters with competitively priced lunchtime and breakfast bundles.

Pret said the trials will inform whether the deals are rolled out more widely. Executives will monitor take-up and price sensitivity during the trial period before making longer-term decisions about national rollout or permanent pricing.

Christou concluded that the company will concentrate on "driving transactions and sustainable growth by offering great value for money for Pret customers," and that the business will be supported by additions to its board and management team as it pursues further expansion.