Pret’s first entirely veggie store in Soho has now had its doors open for a whole year and the store, which opened experimentally, has been confirmed as a permanent fixture on Broadwick Street, London. Demand for veggie/vegan dishes had been high in Pret’s traditional eateries so the chain decided to open Veggie Pret to test the potential market. Its success attests to the growing number of people who want to eat vegetarian or vegan meals for dietary, religious or ethical reasons.
Writing in a blog post, Pret CEO Clive Schlee, said: “What is it about the shop that has struck such a chord? Clearly, the move towards a plant-based diet is gathering momentum, especially among millennials.
Vegetarians and vegans are an articulate and social media-savvy group. Many of you have been advocating eating less meat for years and have been thrilled to see a major UK business take up the cause.”
Many meat eaters are being converted to the plant-based options at Veggie Pret – over half of the customers don’t consider themselves vegetarian or vegan.
Their biggest sellers are vegan dishes and tasty treats such as the Cacao and Orange Pot, which has been flying off the shelves. Looking to the future, the second Veggie Pret recently opened in stylish Shoreditch and will be introducing new vegan dishes such as vegan Mac and Cheese and a salted caramel brownie.
Schlee is also looking to take the success of Veggie Pret Trans-Atlantic and has said: “The next stop for Pret will be the US, where we’ll be launching a new veggie range in all our US shops.”
Picture credit: Pret A Manger Facebook