Pret Launches Vegan Korean BBQ Tofu Meal For Spring

From plantbasednews.org

The new Korean BBQ tofu "Super Plate" combines crunchy tofu with rice, quinoa, and vegetables 

                                                Pret is a UK cafe and sandwich chain with several vegan options 

                                                                                            Media Credit: Adobe Stock

Pret A Manger has added a vegan Korean BBQ tofu option to the menu.

The new plant-based meal is part of a broader menu update at the cafe chain involving increased emphasis on protein-rich ingredients and dishes.

Pret’s Korean BBQ tofu “Super Plate”  includes “crunchy” miso and chili seasoned tofu, Korean-inspired BBQ sauce, kimchi, slaw, black rice, and quinoa, topped with sliced radish, edamame, tenderstem broccoli, and cucumber wedges.

The Korean BBQ plate joins vegan-friendly Pret options such as the avocado, olive, and tomato baguette, falafel and chipotle flatbread, hummus and chipotle wrap, falafel and slaw roll, and a squash and hummus mezze bowl, which is also new.

The cafe chain also serves a vegan-friendly dark chocolate cookie, a fruit-filled “very berry” croissant, chopped fruit dishes, and a range of dairy-free drinks.

In addition to the new food options, Pret has said that it will now serve large-size versions of its barista-made beverages and announced several seasonal flavours.

The new Korean BBQ tofu Super Plate contains 21g of protein, and Pret has also added several other new protein-rich menu items, most of which feature animal ingredients like chicken, fish, and eggs. Pret says that it makes its vegan food “to a vegan recipe,” but that it is “not suitable for those with milk or egg allergies.”

                                    The new Korean BBQ tofu Super Plate at Pret A Manger contains 21g of protein
                                                                 Pret A Manger

The new Korean BBQ plate is not the first tofu option from Pret. In 2019, Veggie Pret introduced its “Vegan Classics” range, which included a tofu-based “Eggless Mayo” and cress baguette, as well as a VLT, tuna mayo-style baguette, and a hoisin wrap.

The company closed its last three Veggie Pret stores in 2024. Katherine Bagshawe, UK food and coffee director at Pret A Manger, said that the closure was not in response to falling demand. One in three main meals sold at Pret is still vegan or vegetarian, and Bagshawe said at the time that “every Pret is a Veggie Pret shop.”

https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/food/pret-vegan-korean-bbq-tofu-meal/

Pret A Manger Replaces Meatball Wrap with Vegan Version for January

From vegnews.com

The fast-casual chain has launched nine new vegan menu items as part of its Veganuary menu

United Kingdom-based fast-casual chain Pret A Manger has replaced the animal-based meatballs in its popular Swedish Meatball Hot Wrap with vegan meatballs from Meatless Farm. The wrap is part of the chain’s launch of nine new vegan options for Veganuary—an annual initiative that encourages people to go vegan for the month of January. The new vegan meatball wrap features red tapenade, chipotle ketchup, red onions, red pepper, and crispy onions. 

Other new vegan menu items include the Sunshine ‘N Spice Wrap (curried chickpeas with ginger, lime, and vegan mayonnaise, and sweet mango chutney, fresh mint, red pepper, spinach, and cucumber); Vegan Breakfast Baguette (smashed avocado, roasted mushrooms, roasted tomatoes, and fresh basil); Mango and Banana Sunshine Bowl (blended mango and banana with coconut milk and turmeric, topped with granola, blueberries, and coconut chips); Coconut Porridge, Very Berry Croissant, and a Dark Chocolate and Almond Butter Cookie.

“As trailblazers in vegan food, we’re really proud of our new Meatless Meatball Hot Wrap. We’ve worked hard to create something that has the Pret taste and quality of one of our classics that our customers expect,” Briony Raven, Pret A Manger’s UK Food and Coffee Director, said. “To encourage more people to try the new plant-based meat alternative hot wrap, we’ve decided to pull our Swedish Meatball wrap for a month as we’re that confident our customers will quickly fall in love with it.”

The chain already offers a wide selection of vegan options and has so far launched 14 Veggie Pret locations in the United Kingdom that exclusively serve meat-free food and drinks. The nine new dishes are available at both Pret and Veggie Pret restaurants nationwide.

https://vegnews.com/2021/1/pret-a-manger-replaces-meatball-wrap-with-vegan-version-for-january

Pret Just Launched 9 New Vegan Options

From livekindly.co

Pret A Manger is launching nine new vegan options this January, including a Meatless Meatball Hot Wrap and a Breakfast Baguette

Pret A Manger is launching nine new vegan options for Veganuary including a Meatless Meatball Hot Wrap, a Breakfast Baguette, and two breakfast bowls featuring smoothie and porridge, respectively.

The UK-based coffee chain already offers a wide selection of vegan options and has so far launched 14 Veggie Pret locations that exclusively serve meat-free food and drink. The nine new dishes will be available at both Pret and Veggie Pret restaurants nationwide.

“Veganuary is a great opportunity for people to kick start the new year and try a more sustainable way of eating. At Pret we’ve long offered vegans, veggies, and ‘flexies’ a wide variety of options for breakfast, lunch, and now dinner,” said Briony Raven, UK Food & Coffee Director at Pret, in a statement.

The new vegan meatball wrap combines “chunky” plant-based meatballs from Meatless Farm, garlic and herbs, salad, chipotle ketchup, and red tapenade. According to the press release sent to LIVEKINDLY, Pret is “so confident” in its new Meatless Meatball Hot Wrap, it will be removing the traditional version for the entirety of January.

“As trailblazers in vegan food, we’re really proud of our new Meatless Meatball Hot Wrap,” said Raven. “We’ve worked hard to create something that has the Pret taste and quality of one of our classics that our customers expect.”

“To encourage more people to try the new plant-based meat alternative hot wrap, we’ve decided to pull our Swedish Meatball wrap for a month as we’re that confident our customers will quickly fall in love with it,” she added.

Other New Vegan Options at Pret

Also new to the Pret menu are the Acai and Almond Butter Bowl, Coconut Porridge, and a Vegan Breakfast Baguette — featuring smashed avocado, mushrooms, tomatoes, and basil. The Sunshine ‘n Spice Wrap includes curried chickpeas, mango, mint, and salad. Last summer, Pret crowdsourced the ingredients for this “Chef’s Special” wrap from customers.

Veggie Pret favourite the Vegan Hoisin Mushroom Wrap will also replace the traditional, meat-based version in all Pret shops for January. It still features glazed mushrooms with pickled cabbage and carrot, topped with Pret’s vegan mayo hoisin sauce.

Veggie Pret is getting its own selection of new vegan options, including the Avo and Chickpeas Herb Wrap, Chef’s Italian Salad, and the same Acai and Almond Butter Smoothie Bowl. These join two varieties of Eggless Mayo Breakfast Baguettes, a VLT sandwich, and mac and greens.

Pret’s new vegan options are available from 5th of January for takeout and delivery.

https://www.livekindly.co/pret-9-vegan-options/

Pret Just Improved Its Vegan Range In Certain Stores

From refinery29.com

Pret a Manger has announced an improved vegan range in its Veggie Pret stores.

The sandwich chain has introduced fully vegan bakery counters in all nine of its Veggie Pret stores, which are located in London and Manchester.

Pret wrote on its website: "You asked for more vegan bakery items, and we listened. Instead of giving you one new product, we’ve ‘veganized’ our entire counter.

“From here on in, we’re only serving vegan kwassonts, muffins and brownies (and let’s not forget our famous vegan cookie)."

In addition to being available in store, you can order Pret's vegan bakery items on Just East, Deliveroo and UberEats.

                                                              Photo: Getty Images

Pret a Manger has announced an improved vegan range in its Veggie Pret stores.

The sandwich chain has introduced fully vegan bakery counters in all nine of its Veggie Pret stores, which are located in London and Manchester.

Pret wrote on its website: "You asked for more vegan bakery items, and we listened. Instead of giving you one new product, we’ve ‘veganized’ our entire counter.

“From here on in, we’re only serving vegan kwassonts, muffins and brownies (and let’s not forget our famous vegan cookie)."

In addition to being available in store, you can order Pret's vegan bakery items on Just East, Deliveroo and UberEats.

It's a positive step for Pret, which has been hit hard by the ongoing coronavirus crisis. While all of its UK stores were closed during the strictest portion of lockdown, it began sharing some of its most popular recipes online.

Though most of its stores have since reopened, in July the chain announced that it is closing 30 stores for good, the majority of which were located outside of London.

And earlier this month, the chain confirmed that it has asked staff to work 20% fewer hours than normal because trade hasn't yet returned to pre-Covid levels.

A spokesperson told the BBC: "Our biggest priority is to do everything we can to save jobs. 

"With footfall in our shops still significantly below normal levels, we have had to review the hours team members are contracted to work each week - although of course we hope to increase these hours as trade improves. By making these changes we are able to save a large number of roles."

https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/pret-all-vegan-bakery-counters

Lunchtime shoppers drive soaring sales of vegan sandwiches

From theguardian.com

Retailers report huge demand for plant-based takeaway foods amid record Veganuary

A rise in the number of regular “lunchtime” vegan shoppers is fuelling sales of plant-based sandwiches and wraps, according to supermarkets.
In a further sign that plant-based food is now firmly mainstream, retailers have reported rocketing sales of vegan takeaway foods, with ingredients such as hummus gaining popularity.

There has been a surge in the number of plant-based foods on offer in the UK, and this year a record 400,000-plus people worldwide signed up to the Veganuary campaign.

Since 2014, it has asked people to pledge to eat a vegan diet for the month of January. It said the latest figure compares with 250,000 participants in 2019 and 170,000 in 2018. In the UK, 130,000 people signed up compared with 100,000 last year.

Manufacturers, supermarkets, restaurants and pub chains are increasingly tapping into not only the burgeoning vegan market but the much larger group of "flexitarians", who enjoy meat but want to reduce their meat consumption.

                 A shopper browses vegan produce at a supermarket. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty
Veganuary led to huge uplift for supermarkets, boosting sales of meat substitutes such as soya mince and vegetarian burgers by 14% and lentils by 6%, according to the latest figures from grocery market analysts Kantar.

Elsewhere in the chiller cabinets, at Tesco sales of vegan sandwiches soared by nearly 75% compared with the previous Veganuary, with the most popular a falafel and hummus wrap.
Tesco food-to-go’s buying manager, Cate May, said: “Thanks to some great recent quality innovation in vegan wraps and sandwiches we are now seeing the emergence of a dedicated lunchtime plant-based shopper.

“Until now most of the noise for vegan food – understandably – has been for meat-free alternatives to classics like burgers, sausages and steaks. However the rise of veganism and flexitarian diets will continue to have a major impact on the takeaway lunchtime market and choices available.”

Sainsbury's said sales of its vegan sandwiches are up 35% year on year compared with last January – and its On the Go vegan range by 23% in the same timeframe. At Waitrose, sales within its vegan and vegetarian range – including wraps, salads and snacks – were up by nearly 20% compared with last year.

Pret a Manger launched its first vegan croissant in early January and is selling twice as many a day as the non-vegan jam croissant. A company spokesperson said: “In January, our vegan classics … saw record sales, increasing by 17% year on year. In particular, customers have switched to our vegan BLT, the VLT, made with roasted shiitake mushroom “rashers”, with sales up by 25%.”

Marks & Spencer said its vegan chicken kievs had sold at a rate of four every minute since going on sale in early January, while its overall fruit and veg sales are up by almost 10% year on year, with mushrooms, a popular meat substitute, up 25%.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2020/feb/08/lunchtime-shoppers-drive-soaring-sales-of-vegan-sandwiches