Less bread and WFH Fridays – what Pret boss knows about our habits

Less bread and WFH Fridays – what Pret boss knows about our habitsJust nowShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJemma CrewBusiness reporterAndrew Parsons/ Parsons MediaFrom cutting back on bread to working from home on Fridays, the boss of sandwich chain Pret A Manger has learnt quite a lot about our habits.We are apparently increasingly on the hunt for green leaves, slowly venturing into the office more, and occasionally treating ourselves to larger, more expensive protein and fibre-packed options as we prioritise health, human connection and flexibility.Cutting across our changing lunch and commuting habits is an overriding desire for good value, Pano Christou tells the BBC's Big Boss Interview podcast.Yet Pret has struggled to shake off a reputation as being expensive in comparison to other High Street chains. It also faces a list of challenges, including inflation, measures from the Autumn Budget, and changing commuter habits post-Covid.One of the ways Pret has tried to be competitive on price is through its subscription model, which has evolved over the years.Launched to drum up demand during the Covid pandemic, it cost £20 a month for up to five free drinks a day and discounted food. Over the next three years the price rose twice, before it was overhauled. It has been criticised for making the popular subscription model less generous. The current version now costs £5 a month, and gets customers up to five half-price drinks a day, which Pret believes is still the best deal on the market. Christou says they've seen a rise of almost 25% in people signed up in the last year.Other outlets offer free loyalty schemes which include perks such as your tenth drink free. Costa offers customers a lunchtime meal deal where they can get a hot drink and toastie for £6.49, with the option to add a snack or water for an extra £1. Pret started trialling meal deals in a number of stores last year, saying it would test the deals at different prices to see how consumers rea...