Pret heeds Real Bread Campaign labelling call
Four years after the Real Bread Campaign began urging Pret a Manger to introduce full ingredient labelling, the company has started doing so in UK stores.
On 3 May 2019, Pret announced it had started to introduce full ingredient labelling in 20 UK stores, which will then be rolled out nationwide.
Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young said: “We welcome this news and encourage all loaf retailers and sandwich sellers to follow suit. It’s tragic that Pret didn’t listen to us sooner and a shame the company still resists ditching all additives in order to offer its customers Real Bread.”
In May 2015, the Real Bread Campaign became aware that Pret was using ‘natural’ food claims to market sandwiches and other products made using artificial additives, despite also claiming to ‘shun’ and ‘avoid’ them. Chris Young then wrote to Pret CEO Clive Schlee, urging the company to:
- Start listing all ingredients, including additives, on packaging or at point of sale
- Bring its marketing messages in line with its practices by dropping ‘natural’ and additive-avoidance claims
- Switch to serving only Real Bread
At the time Pret declined to make any of the three changes.
While Pret subsequently dropping ‘natural’ claims was a direct result of the Real Bread Campaign’s work, the company introducing full ingredient labelling was mainly driven by the deaths of two customers who were unaware of the presence of allergens.
See also
- Timeline of the Real Bread Campaign’s Pret case
- Pret’s progress
- Real Bread Campaign welcomes Pret labelling pledge
- Marketing year-old baguettes as fresh 'wrong' says Real Bread Campaign
- ASA Bans Pret's 'natural food' ads
Published Tuesday 7 May 2019
Real Bread Campaign: The Real Bread Campaign finds and shares ways to make bread better for us, better for our communities and better for the planet. Whether your interest is local food, community-focussed small enterprises, honest labelling, therapeutic baking, or simply tasty toast, everyone is invited to become a Campaign supporter.
