Pret A Manger, the go-to British sandwich and coffee shop with an emphasis on natural and fresh ingredients, have today revealed via their website and social media that they have purchased EAT, the equally enticing lunch pit stop for the purposes of transforming it into Veggie Pret, an off-shoot of their original store brought about by the demand for vegetarian and vegan food options:
Comments on their Instagram post ranged from confusion at the acquisition, praise through plant emojis, palms raised and green hearts, and lamenting the loss of EAT:
The move may prove beneficial to those concerned about cross-contamination of meat and vegetable produce. Last year, the chain was embroiled in a devastating disaster whereby Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, 15, died after eating an Artichoke, Olives & Tapenade baguette that had traces of sesame, a nut the young girl had a severe allergy to. Since the incident,
Natasha's Law has been implemented and the business have made significant changes to its labelling as well as offering allergen warnings across its 400 UK stores:
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| Pret A Manger, 7-9 Queensway, Bayswater, London W2 4QJ |
Of the Eat acquirement, Pret's CEO Clive Schlee had this to say:
“The purpose of this deal is to serve a growing demand of vegetarian and vegan customers who want delicious, high quality food and drink options. We have been developing the Veggie Pret concept for over two years and we now have four hugely successful shops across London and Manchester. The acquisition of the EAT estate is a wonderful opportunity to turbo charge the development of Veggie Pret and put significant resources behind it.” The company aim to convert up to 90 EATs into the new veggie venture proving that the sandwich supremo are well on their way to high street salad domination.
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| Pret A Manger CEO Clive Schlee via Twitter |
The merger couldn't have come at a better time as veganism is on the rise and considered one of the biggest trends of 2019. Everywhere you look, plant-based restaurants are popping up (Tell Your Friends, Filth), animal-friendly alternatives are being offered (Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll, McDonald's vegetarian Happy Meal) and initiatives such as
Meat Free Monday and Veganuary are really taking off. More and more people are turning their backs on livestock for ethical and health reasons (
3.5 million in 2018) and becoming more conscious of their planet (read my post
Fashion Sustainability) in order to sustain it for future generations:
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| Image by mohamed_hassan via Pixabay |
I am sadly not vegetarian. I attempted pescatarianism for a day and I felt incredibly tired. I honestly don't know how people do it! I don't eat too much meat and I always ensure it is UK sourced and free range. I usually have a small portion with salad for protein and to fuel my day:
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| Grilled chicken breast with lemon, black pepper, chilli and mixed leaves |
