Veggie Pret in the UK - Will it franchise?

Veggie Pret is a subsidiary brand of the food chain, Pret A Manger. When Pret A Manger identified a demand for a greater selection of vegetarian and vegan food options, the business realised it needed to shake up its food offering. While it increased the number of vegetarian and vegan foods in its existing stores, it also set about introducing a brand-new type of store dedicated solely to delivering what consumers had requested. Veggie Pret launched in London in 2016 and was the first entirely vegetarian food brand to open in the capital. It was a huge success; according to Pret A Manger, sales rose by 70 percent as a result of the new store. There are now four Veggie Pret stores in the UK.

If you go into one, you won’t simply be confronted with cheese sandwiches and fruit pots. The brains behind the Pret A Manger brand have worked hard to curate an extensive menu of beautiful, nutritious and innovative dishes. What follow are just several of the food options on offer:

For breakfast, customers can enjoy an acai almond breakfast bowl or tomato and mozzarella croissant. Lunch could entail a butternut pesto and roasted tomato flatbread, falafel mezze salad box, butternut and cauliflower gratin, artichoke and mozzarella toasted baguette or a vegan ragu and red pepper hot wrap with a side of kale crisps. There is a huge variety of sweet treats too, from vegan almond butter bites to vegan chocolate coconut pots and dark chocolate corn cakes. Wash this all down with one of Veggie Pret’s coffees, smoothies (such as the avocado smoothie) or shots (such as the ginger shot or charcoal shot).

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Transparency is clearly important to Pret A Manger, which discloses the ingredients and nutritional information of each and every food item on its online menu. Customers can also filter the menu by vegetarian or vegan options, or identify the ingredients they would like to avoid, from dairy, gluten and soya to egg, mustard and sulphites.

Depending on the store, customers can opt to have their food order delivered to their choice of address or collect it from the store.

Other Veggie Pret Locations

There are four Veggie Pret stores in the UK. These are located in Deansgate, Manchester; Exmouth Market; Great Eastern Street, London; and Broadwick Street, London. However, this could change, as it is thought that the brand could soon be launching around 90 additional Veggie Pret stores across the UK.

Veggie Pret London

Pret A Manger has over 450 stores worldwide. Although there are currently only two Veggie Pret locations in London, consumers can find vegetarian and vegan food items in Pret A Manger’s standard stores. These are located in Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Pall Mall East, Villiers Street and Lower Regent Street.

Veggie Pret Franchise

There is no information online to suggest that Veggie Pret is currently recruiting franchisees, but entrepreneurs can start their own Pret A Manger store. If you have experience managing a medium-sized or large food outlet that generated annual sales of at least £10 million), you could be the perfect recruit for a Pret A Manger franchise. However, you will also need to have a net worth of over £7 million and access to liquid assets worth £3.5 million.

To learn more about franchising with Pret A Manger, head to the business’ website and complete an application form.

Alternative Franchising Opportunities

The Avocado Show

If you’re interested in opening a store that sells delicious, nutritious, plant-based food, look no further than The Avocado Show. As you may have guessed, the avocado is the star of the show at this franchise, which boasts an avocado-themed menu. The business had a huge online following before it even opened its doors in 2016, and excited customers queued outside of the restaurant on its opening day to get a taste of the interesting dishes. All the avocados used are sustainably grown and responsibly picked, packed and transported.

To become a The Avocado Show franchisee, you must be able to make a total investment of £149,000 and pay franchise fees of £31,000. Once on board, franchisees will benefit from a dedicated software system, POS system and online training programme, all of which will ensure the new franchise runs at maximum efficiency, enabling franchisees to make a return on their investment in no time.

Café Rouge

Café Rouge is a food chain that offers consumers brunch, lunch and evening meal options in French-themed restaurants. Customers can enjoy a menu of French food and wine that changes twice a year to adapt to the seasons. Each restaurant has a Parisian feel and is dotted with individual design features. Launched in London in 1989, this franchise has built on its business model to open more than 90 restaurants in the UK.

Franchisees who would like to open a Café Rouge restaurant should have previous experience of running a casual dining eatery and sufficient capital to invest in the business for at least three years. In terms of initial investments, franchisees are required to pay a total of £700,000, which includes £25,000 in franchise fees.

If you are interested in the opportunity, you should locate a potential site of between 275 and 400 square metres, preferably with a wide frontage, terrace seating and a bar area. Once your business is up and running, Pret A Manger will perform quarterly business reviews in order to ensure that it runs as smoothly and profitably as possible. By following the brand’s tried and tested business model, you should be able to see success with this internationally recognised food franchise.