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The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

wired.co.uk

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Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#61

Post by ghaff »

ggm wrote: post #53
mortenjorck wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The GP is clearly using hyperbole, but there are much more calorific sandwiches at Subway. From Subway's nutrition datasheet (PDF): http://www.subway.com/~/media/USA/Documents/Nutrition/US_Nut... There are several standard menu items over 900 calories for a "footlong," with the Chicken & Bacon Ranch Melt coming in at 1,060 calories.

Hyper-Bowl would describe typical US portions. The good thing is, that its also common to get "to go" boxes alongside so you can reasonably eat twice for one purchase. It is very rare (on my personal observation, I have no stats here so its anecdata) for anyone to walk out of a ready-made food outlet without the soda and chips. I have also felt at times "pret" was a bit stingy. If I get a turkey and brie sandwich, I…

The pastrami (or corned beef) sandwich thing at the better known NYC Jewish delis is a bit of a Manhattan trope. And, yeah, people mostly either split it (for extra cost) or they take half of it home.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#62

Post by wirthjason »

JustARandomGuy wrote: post #26

American here (work in downtown Chicago), I used to get Pret several times a week as one of their stores was right next door to my office. They have delicious sandwiches, bakery items, and fruit cups, but it's very expensive - a croissant and a breakfast sandwich ran close to $10. It's a great place if you want to eat healthy and have a short lunch time, but there are better options to deliver from if you're WFH.

I was working on a side project with a friend and after work we would meet at the Pret by Union Station and have a cup of coffee and discuss. Just before Pret closed someone would come in with a large plastic bag and clear out all the racks of sandwiches. I assumed these were donations for a food pantry or shelter. I couldn’t believe the waste. It made me feel like they wouldn’t be so expensive if they weren’t throwing so much away. It’s probably a fraction of their operating costs but it made a huge mental impact on how I view their business.

I did love the graphic design on their marketing. It was very creative.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#63

Post by lvturner »

dreen wrote: post #37

While I agree with other posters here that Pret has overpriced mediocre food the standard coffee they offer is IMHO better than at every other similar place. That includes Starbucks, Nero, Costa etc OTOH, I havent bought a single cup since March since Im getting my beans from Pact.

Honestly, and I appreciate that this might be controversial, but the best quality to price ratio coffee I have ever found, belongs to McDonald's - while it might not be the best, it's perfectly drinkable and it's consistent store to store, country to country. (Though, it is gross with whatever 'milk' they use - I only drink it black)

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#64

Post by tony »

If you like this subject, you may like the Company Man on YouTube.

Specifically, they have a playlist for "Company declines" on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9_9_unNR_e7MU1-fJy9B...

Covers: Kmart, Blockbuster, RadioShack, Toys R Us, Pan Am, Kodak, Sear, Payless, Hostess, Nokia, Quiznos

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#66

Post by jddj »

crazygringo wrote: post #55
NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Pret cheese and ham baguette has 31g of protein which is more than half of the daily needs of a 180lb man.

You're basing that, I assume, on the US Recommended Daily Allowance for protein which is 0.8g protein/kg body weight -- or 65 g for your example of a 180 lb person. But this metric is widely misunderstood [1] -- "it’s the minimum amount you need to keep from getting sick — not the specific amount you are supposed to eat every day." If you follow the link, you'll see that doctors actually recommend around double that…

Regardless of all of that, 30g of protein is fine for one of what will probably be a few meals throughout the day.

It's a little more than you'd get from a standard serving of a quality protein shake.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#67

Post by switch11 »

Pret a Manger

1) Amazing food

2) Very nicely set up

3) Just read the blogs etc. that London women write about Pret a Manger. In their minds it's the kind of place where they can get good food and also find 'the man of their dreams'

4) very little real competition

5) most people have a decent amount of disposable income. You can eat utter rubbish at a fast food joint, or you can terrible tasting food from a convenience store, or you can eat at a good place like Pret a Manger

6) Quick

*

They do a lot of things right

If your target audience has money, then providing them a high quality service and pricing it higher is good

It's also a big help if the pricing ensures that only upwardly mobile people can afford it

Go into a fish and chips in london and you have half of East London in there, innit?

go to Pret a Manger and it's people you wouldn't mind having a pint at the pub with

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#68

Post by switch11 »

scubbo wrote: post #59
renewiltord wrote: post #6

Fast eats like this are total rubbish in the UK. Don't know why. SF is so much better. Walk downstairs, grab a quick sandwich at Working Girls, or Specialty's (now dead), or Chipotle. Pret is like 7-Eleven food. Probably for the best that it dies. Fortunately, lots of food carts out in London that'll benefit.

I couldn't possible disagree more. Pret is orders of magnitude better than Specialty's - their breakfast sandwiches were 90% grease. Working Girls is certainly better than Pret, but Pret wins on convenience of being premade. And Pret does coffee too!

yeah

wonder how many of the people claiming Pret a Manger is worse than 7-11 have actually ever eaten at Pret a Manger

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#69

Post by mgkimsal »

mortenjorck wrote: post #44
crazygringo wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that they typically feed a family of four That's true of some things at American sit-down restaurants. But hardly true for a cold sandwich at a sandwich shop. Even a Subway "footlong" club sandwich is just 620 calories. Assuming a 2,000 cal/day diet, that's a little under a third of what you need. Or, in other words, exactly the right size for a balanced lunch if your calorie requirements are on the lesser side. Ho…

The GP is clearly using hyperbole, but there are much more calorific sandwiches at Subway. From Subway's nutrition datasheet (PDF): http://www.subway.com/~/media/USA/Documents/Nutrition/US_Nut... There are several standard menu items over 900 calories for a "footlong," with the Chicken & Bacon Ranch Melt coming in at 1,060 calories.

Throw in chips and soda for a "meal" and you're looking at probably 1600+ calories.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#70

Post by emmelaich »

crazygringo wrote: post #55
NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Pret cheese and ham baguette has 31g of protein which is more than half of the daily needs of a 180lb man.

You're basing that, I assume, on the US Recommended Daily Allowance for protein which is 0.8g protein/kg body weight -- or 65 g for your example of a 180 lb person. But this metric is widely misunderstood [1] -- "it’s the minimum amount you need to keep from getting sick — not the specific amount you are supposed to eat every day." If you follow the link, you'll see that doctors actually recommend around double that…

Well that is weird.

Why don't they call it Recommended Daily Minimum?

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