Latest news with #hybridworkers
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The most expensive salads on the high street: Pret causes a stir with new £13 lunch - but commuter are already shelling out as much as £25 on leaves
Pret A Manger caused a stir this week by unveiling a £13 supersized salmon salad targeted at hybrid workers who 'want to treat themselves the days they are in the office'. Social media fury quickly erupted over the price, which will be higher depending on location, with airport and train station branches charging more and 20 per cent VAT slapped on if customers want to eat it in-store. But a salad that costs more than your hourly wage is not a new concept, with other high street lunch spots selling hearty bowls of leaves and protein and meal deals for as much as £25. Retailers inist that these are not rabbit food, but proper meals. For instance, the co-founder of the Salad Project, James Dare, says that their meals will keep people 'full'. But the same cannot be said for one's bank account, as a meal deal from the business cost one woman £25.30, more than twice the National Living Wage for those aged 21. Hybrid workers who might wish to indulge in a fancy lunch during their days in the office might pop to Whole Foods, where salad is measured by weight. But at around £2.40 per 100g, their nourishing green goddess bowls can easily cost upwards of £12 if it has heavy ingredients in it, such as boiled eggs and chicken. It's just one of the many luxurious salad options available for hungry employees to grab on their lunch breaks... but you might need a hefty salary to be able to afford them. The Salad Project, £25.30 The Salad Project currently have seven stores and has expanded across London since opening its doors for the first time in 2021. Founders Florian and James believe eating salads should be a 'lifestyle' because it 'brings you joy in its simplest and most enjoyable forms'. 'It's your new bad habit, except it's really good,' they state on the website. The brand attracts half-an-hour long queues on a regular basis and their success is reflected in the 4,000 salads they sell each day in London alone. 'These are indulgent salads,' James Dare, The Salad Project's co-founder, claimed in conversation with The Times. He added: 'Yes, they are more expensive than a salad you might buy from Pret. But they'll keep you full. You won't need to have a sandwich immediately after.' However, if you become accustomed to picking up The Salad Project daily, you may be left with little left in your bank account afterwards, with some variations costing more than £20. Restaurant deal app NeoTaste tried one of the most expensive salads in London from the self-service The Salad Project branch in Bank. One of the NeoTaste employees ordered a custom bowl made with prawns, salmon, and 'all the greens', however, she got a fright when the bill came to £25.30. This included a super ginger drink and a mini Tony's Chocoloney bar, and she described the salad as 'so big, the lid didn't even close'. The Salad Project also have The GOAT salad, which will set you back £12.95, along with The Big Deal and the Miso Salmon options. This means that if a Londoner bought the most expensive meals from The Salad Project all week, they would be spending almost £65 on lunch alone. The GOAT contains rocket, roasted sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, honey mustard chicken, goat's cheese, maple walnuts and green goddess dressing. Bibi's, £14.75 Bibi's - located in Soho, Mayfair, Bankside and Fenchurch - is billed as a health food restaurant inspired by Turkish cuisine. They offer some of the most expensive salad boxes in London, with their Signature Roasted Salmon costing an eye-watering £14.75. The fish is infused with honey and garlic flavours and customers can choose two sides to have with the protein. This includes rice, cabbage salad, roasted vegetables, hummus, mixed leaves, a carrot salad or a beetroot salad, along with choosing their own sauces. The signature salad box - which contains no meat or fish for vegans and vegetarians - costs £10.20 and offers the same sides. Bibi's was founded by Turkish-born chef and food creative Billur Yapici, known as Bibi, and her partner Tansel, who wanted to bring flavours from around the world to London commuters. Olive + Squash, £14.30 Located in Holborn near the famous landmark St. Paul's Cathedral, Olive + Squash says it offers 'fresh, sustainable and seasonal food' which is made 'from scratch every day'. However, the convenience of having a nutritious lunch whenever you want it comes at a hefty price tag, with some of their salad bowls going for almost £15 online via Deliveroo. The Saucy Salmon Avocado bowl will set you back £14.30, without the cost of delivery and service fees if you're ordering directly to your office. The 'healthy treat' contains smoked salmon, half an avocado, giant cous cous, little gem lettuce, local radish, spring onions, coriander, sesame seeds and crispy chilli dressing. And for the vegetarians, Olive + Squash offers a premium Burrata al Pesto salad. Despite it containing no form of protein other than cheese, it is priced just 15p less than the salmon dish. It contains burrata from Puglia, homemade pesto, rocket, fusilli pasta, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, Kalamata olives, house croutons, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Atis, £14 Another pricey chain, Atis, has taken over London, offering corporate workers expensive salads in several locations across the city. They have both 'power plates' and 'salad bowls' on offer, with customers having the choice of picking between a chef-curated meal or layering up their own dish. One of the most costly items on the menu is the Miso Salmon Slaw power bowl, priced at £14. It contains miso orange salmon, miso slaw, cucumber, wholegrain rice, baby spinach, crispy shallots and a lime wedge. Atis says it was 'developed to meet the demands of an evolving relationship with food', adding that it wanted to provide a space that was 'reflective of the modern approach to eating'. Other pricey items on the menu include The Big Greek, Chicken Peso Parm and The Steak Out power plates. The Salad Kitchen, £13.75 The business has proclaimed itself as 'London's favourite salad shop' and was set up in 2014 by Sam Cole and Ross Cannon. The Salad Kitchen now has six restaurants and offers different salads based on goals, whether that is to lose weight, eat more protein or cut out gluten - but it all comes at a price. The large Gluten Go Home box will set you back £13.75 and contains a gluten free Crunchbox with pulled chicken, grilled halloumi, avocado, smoked chilli mayo, lemon pesto and toasted seeds. A crunchbox is described as a 'medley' of salads with a choice of pulled chicken, avocado, vegan kimchi, goat's cheese and/or grilled halloumi. The Salad Project's regular Protein Paradise salad also costs £12.20 and contains a crunchbox with extra an pulse, two and a half portions of pulled chicken, smoked chilli mayo, honey mustard and toasted seeds, which all contain a whopping 64g of protein. Those watching the pounds may opt for the pricey regular £11.25 So Cali low-calorie bowl, which contains a crunchbox with kimchi, roast tempeh, sriracha mayo and sourdough croutons. Tossed, £13.99 At Tossed, it appears that vegetarian salads can actually cost more than those that contain expensive ingredients, such as meat and fish. The Harissa Cauliflower salad contains harissa roasted cauliflower with houmous, pickled vegetables, roasted peppers, cucumber, mint and pomegranate relish, baby plum tomatoes, fresh coriander and tahini dressing. It costs £9.99, a heftier price tag than the £8.49 Tuna Niçoise salad, which is made with tuna, egg, olives, baby plum tomatoes, pickled red onion and French dressing. But one of the most expensive salads on their Deliveroo website is the Avocado Caesar Salad, which will set you back £13.99, without the cost of delivery and fees. Customers can choose between chicken or salmon with avocado, parmesan crisps, baby plum tomatoes, egg, croutons, Caesar dressing and lemon juice. Palm Greens, £13.50 Palm Greens' base is pinpointed in the heart of trendy east London, Shoreditch, an area with a thriving arts and culture scene and home to many other independent shops and restaurants. It therefore may come as no surprise that its mantra is 'lunch, just not as you know it', again, promising bold flavours with 'seasonal goodness'. Palm Greens currently has three salads on the menu: Mexican Tostada, Kale Caesar and Miso Mushroom, all of which cost a hefty £13.50 each. This means a post-gym wellness drink and salad would easily rack up to more than £20 per person, as the smoothies themselves are £8.50 alone. Urban Greens, £13.50 With five locations across London, in Kensington to London Wall, Urban Greens are beginning to establish themselves as one of the industry giants within the city's health food industry. The store aims to 'deliver nutritious, powerful, delicious food' for busy commuters in a rush who perhaps don't have time to prepare food at home. Customers can build their own salads, but those in a hurry may choose their pre-made dishes off the menu, however, they don't come cheap. The Salmon Avocado Signature Salad bowls cost £13.50 - 55p more than Pret's salad - and it contains hot smoked salmon, quinoa, shredded kale, pickled cabbage, avocado, fresh parsley, sesame seeds and a basil pesto dressing. The business has also recently teamed up with Paradise, a restaurant owned by British-Sri Lankan chef Dom Fernando in Soho, to create the Paradise salad. It costs a whopping £12 and contains tamarind and jaggery glazed chicken, red rice, broccoli, pickled red cabbage, pickled chillies, coconut and cherry tomato pol sambol, coriander, cashews, crispy onions and a curry leaf pesto dressing. Pick Your Own, £12.45 Pick Your Own champions 'field to fork' has opened its first location on Fenchurch Street, a busy hub full of hundreds of offices, financial, insurance, and legal sectors. The regular Salmon Crunch Salad costs £12.45 and upgrading to a large costs £13.95, almost putting the company on par with Bibi's. It contains ezme fava beans, seasonal shredded vegetables, nut crumble, shredded carrots, green harissa tahini dressing and chilli-encrusted sockeye salmon. Pick Your Own also has a Calabrian Chilli Chicken bowl costing £11.95 for a regular and £13.45 for a large. For that cost, customers receive lemon and herb chicken, baby spinach, shredded vegetables, Calabrian chilli crunch, red pepper and lemon and orange asparagus and courgette. Pick Your Own says its aim is to 'champion a holistic approach to sustainability in the quick-service restaurant industry'.
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Pret A Manger unveils £13 supersized salad targeted at hybrid workers who 'want to treat themselves the days they are in the office' - would YOU buy it?
Pret a Manger has unveiled a new range of 'premium' lunch offerings targeted at hybrid workers looking to treat themselves on office days - including a salmon salad that starts from £12.95. The coffee shop chain, which has almost 500 stores across the UK, says its new range of salmon, chicken and butternut squash dishes have been concocted with its in-house nutritionist to meet growing demand for bigger, healthy lunches. Some of the dishes contain nearly 50 grams of protein and are, according to Pret, nearly 60 per cent bigger than its existing range of salads. But the range of leafy greens and beans 'starts from' £9.95 - rising to £12.95 for the top-of-the-range miso salmon salad. And prices will be even higher depending on location, with airport and train station branches charging more and 20 per cent VAT slapped on if customers want to eat it in-store. Reaction to the new dishes has been mixed - with much opinion directed at the near-£13 price point and the ingredients, which include chargrilled chickpeas, quinoa and 'hand-massaged kale'. Existing salads retail for around £8. But Pret - which has weathered the outcry after it scrapped its £30-a-month coffee subscription plan and is now being primed for a potential stock market listing - says it has done its homework and sees the salads as its next big hit. Briony Raven, its chief customer and product officer, told MailOnline that it was 'perfect' for anyone 'quickly grabbing lunch on the go'. 'This new category is a significant step-change in our lunchtime line-up, which we believe will continue the growth we've seen in our existing salads range,' she added. A spokesperson added that the price point matched the time it took for workers to put them together, claiming they take longer to prepare than other salads and baguettes. 'We have ensured our new Super Plates are priced competitively within the market for this type of lunchtime offer,' the spokesperson added. The premium dishes will be available at 250 of Pret's stores across the UK, including major train stations and airports. But the chain may have its work cut out convincing some that the 'super salads' are for them, judging by reaction on social media. 'I've not even spent £13 on a salad before in Waitrose. Think I'll be giving Pret a miss,' said one user on X. '£13? Sod that, buy salad from a supermarket and make a week's worth for that,' wrote another. Another pointed out that £13 is almost £1 more than the minimum wage for adults: the National Living Wage for those aged 21 and over is £12.21 an hour. The chain has been here before: it was roundly criticised for selling a 'posh' cheddar cheese and pickle baguette for £7.15 at train stations in 2023. And irate coffee lovers blasted the firm after it ditched its £30-a-month coffee subscription, which gave subscribers up to five free coffees a day. It had been introduced after the pandemic to entice people back into stores but was suspected to be hugely unprofitable after failing to convince customers to also buy food in store, even with a 20 per cent discount. The firm ultimately scrapped the all-in subscription in September last year and removed the discount, stating that it 'never got comfortable' with dual pricing. A smaller number of people took to social media to defend the pricing of the 'premium' product Pret has weathered similar storms over its pricing before - such as when it priced a cheese and pickle baguette at £7.15 when eaten in one of it stravel stores It now offers Club Pret as a £5-a-month subscription that gives members up to five half-price barista-prepared drinks such as teas, coffees and smoothies each day. It is confident that the new salads can capture a corner of the 'premium' lunchtime market amid a long overdue post-pandemic boom in on-the-go food sales brought about by a return to the office. Sales of ready-to-eat food rose by 13.3 per cent year-on-year to £38.4billion, according to research from analytics firm Kantar published in September 2024. Salad sales grew the most, by 19.2 per cent - but sandwiches are falling out of favour as workers opt for more adventurous options like sushi. Experts say the boom is likely down to people returning to the office - with hybrid workers thought to 'treat' themselves on the days they leave the house. The Grocer reported last year that there is an 'increasing willingness to spend among hybrid workers', with data suggesting they spend more per visit than frequent office workers. Some early reaction appeared to align with the chain's thinking, with one user noting: 'It's not a cheap lunch but the quality's there. Sometimes you want a proper, filling salad and Pret's nailed the flavours compared to the comp(etition).' Another added: 'I'd rather go to Pret and eat that for lunch while working on my laptop than pay over the odds... for a meal deal.' Pret is not the only chain to look into the trend of people seeking bigger lunches. A poll of 2,000 adults conducted for McDonalds by OnePoll last month found that one in four Brits skip breakfast on a regular basis. Of those, 13 per cent wait to break their fast do so because they want a bigger lunch, The Sun reported. Chipotle Chicken (£10.95) Made with chargrilled chicken and a black bean mole sauce, served with brown rice, quinoa, red pepper and avocado. Miso Salmon (£12.95) Pret describes this as being served with 'golden roasted salmon' and togarashi chilli seeds, served alongside avocado, black rice, quinoa, Tenderstem broccoli and edamame beans. Butternut Mezze (£9.95) A vegan salad made with 'hand-massaged' kale, roasted butternut squash, aubergine and 'smoky' chickpeas alongside pickled cabbage and carrot, and hummus. Shawarma Chicken (£10.95) This Middle Eastern-inspired dish mixes chargrilled chicken with a spiced sauce, chickpeas, 'hand-massaged' kale, red pepper, cucumber sticks and hummus.
