Pret A Manger just revealed that Brits are obsessed with coffee and macaroni cheese
The group confirmed in its results statement that sales rocketed 16% to £594 million ( or +9.7% like-for-like) because Britons have fallen in love with macaroni cheese.
It sold around 50,000 macaroni cheese items since it launched the hot food product in October this year.
It added that by increasing its vegetarian range in the UK to over 40 items, it also helped boost revenue. This includes its Quinoa Rice Pots and a dairy and gluten-free Five Grain Porridge.
Other highlights from the statement include:
- EBITDA up +14% to £76 million
- 12% of sales from new product development
- 33 new shops opened, including a first shop in Shanghai
- 526 new jobs created
- £1.5 million raised for charities helping the homeless
"These are a strong set of results and represent another successful year for Pret," said Clive Schlee, Chief Executive of Pret A Manger, in a statement. "With double digit growth achieved in virtually all of our markets, we continued our measured expansion of the business by remaining faithful to our core values and by responding to customer demand for innovative, healthy and hot food.
"Our Pret Foundation Trust also raised record sums and we distributed 3 million salads and sandwiches to charities for the homeless".