Pret To Launch First Ever Vegetarian Pop-Up In London

LONDON, United Kingdom — Pret a Manger has announced the launch of its first ever vegetarian only store as part of a new campaign called “Not Just For Veggies”.

Set to open in June, the month long pop-up situated in an existing Soho branch, will encourage customers to give feedback on the dishes they like in the hope that they will eventually make it on to the chain’s permanent menu.

“We’ve always believed that food (veggie or otherwise) is at its best when it’s fresh, natural and prepared with passion. That’s why last year, Clive Schlee (our CEO) started talking about vegetarian food on his blog,” says a statement on the Pret a Manger website.

“Not Just For Veggies”, a product of Schlee’s commitment to meat-free options, aims to highlight that you don’t need to be vegetarian to enjoy eating meat-free foods. The idea behind it being to encourage people towards eating vegetarian choices more often.

In addition to the soho pop-up, Pret will also expand their vegetarian and vegan options, with new dishes including the Chana Chaat Flat Bread, a vegan Red Tapenade & Avo SuperBowl salad and a Mushroom & Avocado Sushi Salad.

Earlier this year Schlee revealed Pret had experienced a double-digit growth in veggie sales, crediting the leap to both an expansion of the menu and improved recipes.

Selling 17,000 beetroot, squash and feta salads per week, avocados were the chain’s standout ingredient, with sales of dishes containing avocado rising by more than a quarter. However, the veggie only pop-up is not expected to be such a money maker.

“Our takings in the shop will probably drop, but the pop-up will signal that Pret is serious about providing veggie and vegan options. And who knows, we might just find the next bestseller in the process,” explained Schlee.

Pret, which is now located in the UK, the US, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai enjoyed a record year in 2015, with total sales increasing by 13.9% to £676m, its overall profits growing to £84.3m.

Schlee hopes the launch of “Not Just For Veggies” will help cement Pret’s active role in making the choice to eat healthily easy and delicious, and in doing so, propel sales even further.