PRET A Manger has launched a range of budget sandwiches as it takes on Greggs in the cost-of-lunch crisis.
The eight new Made Simple options go on sale from today and start at £2.54 for an egg mayo.
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There is also a BLT, tuna and cucumber, mature cheddar and pickle, chicken salad, ham salad, and hummus and veg — all for £2.99.
The prices are a big drop from Pret’s upmarket products — with a posh cheddar and pickle baguette costing £5.45 and even an egg mayo sandwich usually selling for £3.40.
Despite the new range, Pret will still be more expensive than Greggs’ £2.75 tuna crunch baguette.
Pret has also launched a meal deal for the first time, offering customers a baguette and bag of crisps or popcorn for £5.
It is still much more expensive than Tesco’s £3.90 sandwich, drink and snack meal deal, which is even cheaper for Clubcard members at £3.40.
Pret justified previous price rises by saying it faced rising costs for ingredients, staff and energy.
In September customers balked when Pret’s sandwiches jumped in price, with a tuna baguette rising 50p from £3.30 to £3.80 while a cup of filter coffee also became 50p more expensive.
The chain, with 450 branches across the country, had been loved by office workers for its upmarket sarnies but was hit badly during the pandemic when lockdowns and working from home decimated sales.
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It has also launched a coffee subscription card for regulars.
Guy Meakin, interim UK managing director at Pret, said: “With the cost-of-living crisis impacting people across the country, we wanted to introduce new products and deals that give customers more choice and value for money.”
Kien Tan, senior retail adviser at PwC, said: “Pret has got out of touch with rivals so it needed to become more competitive to encourage people to buy lunch multiple times a week.”
