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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

#111

Post by mrkwse »

Gustek wrote: post #40

I used to work at the Pret during my student years. All employees, we were very puzzled by why Pret is so popular and why are they willing to pay so much for the food. Today with a better-paid job, when in the centre and need to get a quick snack, Pret is often my choice. End of the day they have good food and offer good service. You hear many stories about people who used to work for McD and they say they will never…

I guess the coffee deal is mainly to drive footfall. I expect their hope is that when people are deliberating over lunch, those that already have the coffee deal will default to Pret so they don't pay twice for coffee with their sandwich etc.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#112

Post by mrkwse »

lancewiggs wrote: post #83

Perhaps they could consider opening up in New Zealand. Plenty of folks with UK experience would jump at the chance for quality fast lunch.

I'm assuming you're from NZ? Given the greater degree of success NZ is having, are offices still filled there, with little change to pre-COVID?

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#113

Post by HenryBemis »

matthewmacleod wrote: post #104
HenryBemis wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being an on and off customer since 1998, I was fascinated by the idea that I can walk in and pick a sandwich out of 20-50-100 combinations (I honestly don't remember how many options were available but I remember it as "oh sooooo many!!!". I treated it as a snack. Once I moved back to London some years back I was (negatively) surprised that MANY people consider lunch to be: "1 sandwich +1 bad of crisps/chips +1 sugar…

The idea that what’s essentially a regular sandwich shop (and not one particularly notable for pushing “chips” or “sugary soft drinks”) is in any real way contributing to obesity in the UK is laughable.

To quote Tesco: "every little helps".

I like to eat at Farmer J's. Decent food (quality/quantity), costs around £8. A "lunch" (laugh/cry) on Pret costs £3? £4? People that spent £10-20 per day to commute, £3-5 on dry cleaning, £6-8 for x2 coffees, will try to squeeze every penny. So yes they may go to Pret and save £4 from their "lunch".

I don't blame the shop, they don't sell heroin, they sell sandwiches. I merely focused on the fact that people see it at a "source for nutrition". The fault is to both sides. People prefer the tasty quick-fix (salt/sugar) instead of a balanced nutritional lunch. The Pret is positioning itself in every other block for convenience. The people (especially in the square mile and Canary Wharf) are overworked, stressed, and they need the quick bite/fix and then run back to work. I've heard a million times the line "I got no time and/or money to spend for a normal/decent lunch".

It is a mixture of the above. Plus the revolution of caffeine (no need to eat and sleep well - coffee will fix everything, will keep us going).

So yes, a "sandwich shop" (aka fast food) is also to blame partially (just as McD, KFC, etc.)

It is a hydra with a thousand heads, and COVID helped cut some of them, show how we can thrive with a different lifestyle.

People work from home. They will eat (hopefully) better, caffeine/sugar consuption (I hope) is reduced, the work is done, people will spend 1-2-3h less on trains/buses that they can spend with their loved ones (or sleep).

And yes, a sandwich shop (in every bloody corner) selling cheap junkfood 'packaged' (offered) with fried salty junk (crisps) and sugar (soft drinks) DOES contribute to obesity. Thinking that it doesn't is illogical. It's not a discussion on causality/coincidence.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#114

Post by twic »

crazygringo wrote: post #19

As an American, I've always been so confused by Pret's sandwiches. Specifically, how they're like 95% bread. Seriously. You get their "famous ham and cheese" and it's a mini baguette with like a single layer of ham and cheese. Like the ham and cheese is a condiment, rather than filling. It's a stretch to call what they sell "sandwiches". It's closer to just flavored bread. And remember -- it's not just sugar that inc…

Sandwiches in the UK are a scandal. Pret got huge in part because their sandwiches we so much better than the other options. Imagine that!

When Pret launched, your options were a packet sandwich from Boots or something, which would be stale sliced bread with a single layer of tasteless waxy cheese, or something from a sandwich shop, where the choices are (1) tuna mayonnaise that has been there since yesterday (2) a cheese bun wrapped in cling film and kept in a fridge (3) a (one piece of incinerated) bacon, (limp) lettuce, and (tasteless, but mercifully thinly sliced) tomato.

Things are a bit better now, but to be honest, still terrible. You can wander around New York or Madrid and find a random sandwich place on a street corner that would be in the top 10 in London.

My theory is that this a manifestation of a broader cultural weakness of (most) British people, which is that they can't imagine that a better world is possible. Nobody looks at that "famous ham and cheese" and thinks, "okay, but what if there were five slices of each of those, and the bread tasted of something, and there was lashings of a delicious wholegrain mustard dressing?". Because they don't imagine it, they don't demand it, and Pret keeps on churning out abysmal lunches.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#115

Post by genmon »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #110
matthewmacleod wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that what’s essentially a regular sandwich shop (and not one particularly notable for pushing “chips” or “sugary soft drinks”) is in any real way contributing to obesity in the UK is laughable.

It really isn't. Small sandwich + crisps + sugary soda or coffee >= 700 calories, which is around twice what someone sedentary needs for lunch unless they start their day with a decent run. Add a chocolate bar and you're over 800. Start with a bigger roll or a wrap instead of a small sandwich and you're over 900. It's also a huge carb hit, which is not ideal for staying awake later. And it's low in bulk, which will l…

Yup -- I was really surprised when I started looking at the nutrition labels on Pret food. High calories, tons of mayo. Not great.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#116

Post by 082349872349872 »

HenryBemis wrote: post #113
matthewmacleod wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that what’s essentially a regular sandwich shop (and not one particularly notable for pushing “chips” or “sugary soft drinks”) is in any real way contributing to obesity in the UK is laughable.

To quote Tesco: "every little helps". I like to eat at Farmer J's. Decent food (quality/quantity), costs around £8. A "lunch" ( laugh/cry ) on Pret costs £3? £4? People that spent £10-20 per day to commute, £3-5 on dry cleaning, £6-8 for x2 coffees, will try to squeeze every penny. So yes they may go to Pret and save £4 from their "lunch". I don't blame the shop, they don't sell heroin, they sell sandwiches. I merely…

> they need the quick bite/fix and then run back to work.

A different stable equilibrium: shutting the country down during 90 minutes for the midday repast.

(Are the two coffees liquid substitutes for the 10 o'clock and 4 o'clock? What about tea ladies? Are they no longer a thing?)

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#117

Post by genmon »

Related: this is a great long read in the Guardian about the emergence of the lunch sandwich in the UK.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/nov/24/how-the-sandwic...

One nugget: the lunch sandwich was invented by M&S in the early 1990s, and it was immediately hugely popular. Yet management missed the chance to capitalise on it by opening standalone sandwich shops.

A lesson in organisational inertia, leading to a business missing a huge new opportunity right under their noses. My view: businesses should compensate for this by doubling-down by default on any form of enlargement that works, deliberately not considering overall strategy. The limit to consider strategic implications should be higher than it currently is.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#118

Post by philjackson »

Gustek wrote: post #40

I used to work at the Pret during my student years. All employees, we were very puzzled by why Pret is so popular and why are they willing to pay so much for the food. Today with a better-paid job, when in the centre and need to get a quick snack, Pret is often my choice. End of the day they have good food and offer good service. You hear many stories about people who used to work for McD and they say they will never…

That free coffee thing. I used to go to a Pret frequently with one of my female colleagues who happened to be very traditionally attractive. She got a free coffee from male staff every single time.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#119

Post by switch007 »

twic wrote: post #114
crazygringo wrote: post #19

As an American, I've always been so confused by Pret's sandwiches. Specifically, how they're like 95% bread. Seriously. You get their "famous ham and cheese" and it's a mini baguette with like a single layer of ham and cheese. Like the ham and cheese is a condiment, rather than filling. It's a stretch to call what they sell "sandwiches". It's closer to just flavored bread. And remember -- it's not just sugar that inc…

Sandwiches in the UK are a scandal. Pret got huge in part because their sandwiches we so much better than the other options. Imagine that! When Pret launched, your options were a packet sandwich from Boots or something, which would be stale sliced bread with a single layer of tasteless waxy cheese, or something from a sandwich shop, where the choices are (1) tuna mayonnaise that has been there since yesterday (2) a c…

This so painfully accurate I cringed.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#120

Post by james412 »

Pret and Itsu (same founders) have been my default shops for many years because you simply don't have to think, walking in and out in under 2 minutes is absolutely to be expected, and if you're a bit autistic and enjoy routine, can have precisely the same choc bar + coffee + salad + sandwich with identical consistency on every single visit

Their food is hardly amazing, but it is wonderfully consistent. Truly hope they survive and flourish once more, London simply would not be the same without them

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