Pret confirms it will gobble up Eat

If food retailers don't pay attention to the trend towards veganism and vegetarianism, they will be left behind by others who are taking notice.

Incredibly exciting news. Also a fantastic indicator to the success and support for the plant-based movement.

Will this change lunchtimes in London? https://lnkd.in/dzZ39ee

Big news in the sector - I’ll miss the meaty pies and gravey! Eat need to do something as they have stagnated somewhat. They have good product though and some cracking sites. There must be serious demand for veggie product out there.

More Veggie Prets - that may not work for EAT clientele in some cities.

This could be interesting for the high street. Pret A Manger, is apparently in talks to buy competitor sandwich chain EAT so as to change its stores into vegetarian outlets, due to the demand for plant-based foods. Pret are looking to buy the majority or all of Eat’s 94 units to create more “Veggie Prets”. Interestingly for us Pret launched its first Veggie Pret as a pop-up shop in Soho quite close to our offices in 2016 as a kind of loss making experiment, instead, the pop-up saw sales jump and they have since opened three permanent vegetarian shops in London with more planned. I do wonder however if this could mean some closures? #retailing #privateequity #management #business #branding #strategy #venturecapital #realestate #shops

https://lnkd.in/gdHi3zM Beyond Meat successful IPO, Impossible Food $300m capital raise and Pret in talks with Eat to expand its Veggie Pret; all clear signs that the vegan/ plant-based trend is here to stay ...

This is interesting - lots of cross over on sites (about 75%!), but if they just use the estate it could work well to roll out Veggie Prets for the many flexitarians and vegans out there! #opinion #retail #highstreet https://lnkd.in/g8HAFDE

The queue at Leon was much longer than the queue at Pret at St Pancras, Thursday am last week. In fact there wasn't a queue at all at Pret. Made me question whether maybe those queues ( or lack of them) reflected current consumer perceptions of both brands. I spent some time then looking at the operation Leon had 3 people serving at the counter and 1 person serving coffee. Pret had 6 people serving at their counter and 4 making coffee. The latter looked smooth, quick and organised. What would I prefer? A queue for Leon with an innovative, appealing menu including an avocado & halloumi muffin, sourdough muffins, poached egg pots, double egg pots, wholemeal toast, toast of the town, porridge pots and a veggie breakfast box? Or no queue with a menu that doesn't seem to have moved on very much lately I hit the former