Pret A Manger has released a brand new salad range amid a boom in popularity for salad bars across the UK, but some consumers aren’t happy about the price.
The chain, which prides itself on its “freshly made food and good organic coffee”, said it had noticed a significant uptick in the sales of its salad bowls. Dubbed “Super Plates”, the new range features four products starting from £9.95 and costing all the way up to £12.95.
Including the Miso Salmon, Butternut Mezze, Chipotle Chicken and Shawarma Chicken Super Plates, the company said the range had been “carefully crafted by Pret’s in house head of food and registered nutritionist to keep you fuller for longer”.
They are said to be 60 per cent larger than the brand’s existing salads, weighing around 450g, and feature ingredients including Japanese style Togarashi spiced seeds, “hand-massaged” kale, black bean mole and quinoa, pomegranate seeds and more.
Sales for Pret salads have grown at three times the rate of the company’s sandwiches, according to The Caterer.
“With a rise in popularity amongst Brits for larger, more nutrient dense salads we carefully crafted our brand-new ‘Super Plates’ category,” said Briony Raven, chief customer and product officer at Pret.
“Our range of protein-packed options, made with premium ingredients, are perfect for when you’re quickly grabbing lunch on-the-go. This new category is a significant step-change in our lunchtime line-up, which we believe will continue the growth we’ve seen in our existing salads range.”
However, the range sparked debate online as social media users hit out at the cost of the items.
“Are they joking?” wrote one outraged person on X/Twitter, while another chimed in: “£13 for some leaves and a small amount of dressing?”
“I could make myself that for a week for £13!” added another as the salads were dubbed “premium” and “a joke”.
One user quipped: “Cool. As long as they think someone with too much money will pay it. I won’t be.”
Calculating the costs of five lunches at the maximum price every week one person said: “65 quid a week on salads?”
The range will be available in 250 stores across the UK from Thursday (9 July), including London, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham.
