Pret a Manger raises price of coffee subscription by 25%
Pret a Manger is increasing the price of its coffee subscription service by 25% as the cost of milk, coffee beans and staff pay goes up.
The coffee shop chain said the monthly fee for up to five barista-made drinks a day would rise to £25 from £20 from 3 February for new subscribers, and from 16 March for those already signed up.
The increase comes less than two months after the advertising watchdog advised Pret, which has about 400 shops in the UK, to rethink how it advertised its subscription service launched in September 2020, after receiving thousands of complaints about options on the deal not being available in some outlets.
Pret blamed the imminent price rise on inflation and the government’s planned increase in VAT to 20% from 1 April, from 12.5% at present. It said VAT would add £2 to the cost of the subscription, £1.50 would go towards extra staff pay and a further £1.50 to cover inflation.
“We believe the Pret coffee subscription continues to offer great value,” the company said in an email to customers.
Coffee is one of the everyday basics whose price has risen significantly during the pandemic as one of the biggest producers, Brazil, suffered from droughts and the worst frost in over two decades while shipping costs soared.
It is understood that the price Pret pays for its Arabica coffee beans is likely to rise 40% this year from 2020 levels.
The cost of producing milk has soared by nearly a quarter as increased labour and machinery costs have combined with the rising price of cattle feed, driven by inflation in fertiliser costs, which are linked to surging gas prices.
Coffee shops in the UK are experiencing further inflationary pressure as they battle for staff after many workers returned to Europe during the
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