Pret goes to Greggs to ride out UK cost-of-living crisis

Bloomberg

After almost four decades spent targeting London’s office workers with upscale fare like salmon and avocado protein pots, Pret A Manger Ltd is taking aim at a different clientele: suburban Brits facing the worst cost-of-living crisis since the Thatcher era.
As the sandwich chain expands across the UK, where prices are climbing at the fastest pace since 1982, Pret’s working on more affordable menu items such as cheese twists and pastel de natas, which will each cost less than £2 ($2.48) when they debut
in July.
“There will come a point where the pinch is so hard on people’s purses that they will pull back on things,” Chief Executive Officer Pano Christou said in an interview. “How can we ensure that we have the right offer for people to think Pret is attractive when they’re counting their pennies more?”
The price pressures squeezing UK consumers extend from gasoline to electricity to groceries and look set to worsen before they subside. The Bank of England this month warned of double-digit inflation later this year and the risk of recession, conjuring fears of a return to 1970’s-style stagflation.
As Britons confront the new economic realities, Christou said Pret is taking cues from the success of cheaper rival Greggs Plc, a national chain famed for its £1.25 sausage roll and chicken bake pastries. Greggs has attained a popularity in the UK that extends to nail art complete with a sausage roll charm and a clothing line that debuted this year in partnership with fast-fashion retailer Primark.