Pret A Manger has dropped milkshakes, frappes and smoothies from its menu in a blow to its coffee subscription users who complained some of the drinks did not come as part of the monthly plan.
The high street chain said it was scrapping the cold blended drinks in favour of iced drinks which will be available in the summer, in a move which the company called “the biggest drinks innovation in more than five years.”
Smoothies and frappes will continue to be avaiable in some stores until the end of May, Pret said.
The firm’s popular coffee subscription, launched in 2020, allows users to order up to five drinks a day for a fixed monthly fee. But some users had complained that not all drinks were included as part of the subsription.
The current subscription, which costs £25 per month, only includes coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chai latte and iced coffee, and drinks must be ordered at least 30 minutes apart.
The move to ditch the blended drinks comes amid a shake-up of the coffee chain’s menu to introduce more affordable options, including the launch of its ‘Made Simple’ range, a set of eight granary sandwiches starting at £2.99 in the vast majority of Pret shops across the UK. The firm has also introduced a £5 baguette meal deal in a bid to attract customers facing squeezed budgets under cost of living pressures.
The firm is also closing most of its vegetarian shops, with two Veggie Pret shops in London expected to remain open.
Opening its first exclusively vegetarian shop with a Soho pop-up in 2016, Pret is now expected to shut 75 per cent of Veggie Pret sites, as reported by The Telegraph.
A Pret spokesperson said: “We know that Pret customers are huge fans of iced coffees and drinks, so over the next few months we’ll be increasing their availability across more Pret locations with new ice machines installed across our shops.
“We will also be replacing our current range of frappes and smoothies from April, and bringing in a bigger range of iced drinks to choose from.
“Once the changes are complete, iced drinks will be available in over 90% of Pret shops, so that even more of our customers can enjoy our full range of barista-prepared drinks.”
