What's the deal?

Launched on 8th September, a YourPret Barista subscription costs £20 a month and allows customers to order up to five hot drinks per day, seven days a week. Drinks on offer as part of the subscription include organic coffee, tea, hot chocolate, all iced drinks – including iced coffee, cold brew, frappes and smoothies – plus any milk alternatives, syrups and extra coffee shots. Customers will be given a unique QR code when they sign up which they’ll have to scan via their phone to receive their drinks. And best of all, when new users sign up, the first month is completely free.

Why have they done it?

Pret a Manger has had a tough time during the pandemic, and low footfall has forced the company to cut almost 3,000 jobs. With its £20 price tag, Pret’s new service is clearly hoping to encourage customers into city centres and back onto high streets, which remain relatively quiet as many of us continue to work from home. Pano Christou, Pret’s CEO, has told media that coffee sales have outstripped food sales since outlets were able to reopen, so a focus on the hot drinks market makes perfect sense.

What are the limitations?

Users are only able to order a drink every 30 minutes, up to a maximum of five per day, so the service isn’t misused. Users should also make sure to check which drinks are eligible – for example, Cocoa, Almond Butter & Banana smoothies, Raspberry, Mango & Ginger smoothies, and Avocado, Mango & Ginger smoothies aren’t included as part of the deal.

Is it really good value?

For the first month, where the introductory offer gives you free drinks, the value is undeniable. But the regular price of £20 per month also works out well – even if you were to have just one hot drink every Monday to Friday, you’d still be paying significantly less (around £1 each) compared to a Gail’s latte, which usually comes in at more than £3. What's more, say you pick up a latte from Pret daily, you'd usually end up spending around £43 per month. So that equates to a saving of more than 50%. If that's not convincing enough, taking advantage of the offer to the fullest means you could have almost 150 hot beverages a month – working out at around 13p each. We’ll drink to that.

Visit Pret.co.uk