Pret A Manger has defended its recent price rises following claims that the business had been profiteering from the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
The chain has been accused by several publications, including The Times and The Sun, of inflating prices ahead of market inflation.
Speaking at a lunch trade show in London on Wednesday, Pret shops and franchise director Guy Meakin said the business had always been “transparent” on price rises and given notice to customers.
“It’s a really tough market. Energy costs have gone up through the roof, and are now starting to plateau and come down, which is encouraging – but still significantly higher than before,” he said.
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“But prices are going up, so unfortunately, we are having to pass our prices through to our customers from time to time.”
Meakin said prices could differ across its store estate for several reasons, including on whether a customer eats in which adds 20% VAT to the bill.
Pret also charges for products bought from branches that have higher operating costs like its smaller travel hub format and adds a premium for delivery.
Meakin added that the business had to remain “competitive” but also “mindful” about how much it charged customers.
“We have more price points than we’ve ever had because of our different type of formats, and we need to hold ourselves to account on that.”
The food chain upped the price of its monthly ‘Club Pret’ subscription by 20% to £30 earlier this year, but also increased the food discount to 20% off.
Pret returned to profitability for the first time since 2018 this year thanks to the success of its subscription service.
The group, which suffered during the pandemic lockdowns, reported an operating profit of £50.6m in the year to December 2022, up from a loss of £225.9m in the previous year.
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