Pret A Manger to offer nationwide reusable coffee cup discount

Sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger has announced an extension on its reusable coffee cups discount to all of its UK shops, following a successful three-month trial earlier this year.


Customers visiting Pret A Manger stores across Greater London since April 2017 have been offered a 25p discount on hot drinks if they bring in a reusable cup. Pret A Manger announced on Tuesday (1 August) that this offer has now been extended to all UK stores.

Pret A Manger’s brand director Caroline Cromar said: “We have been really encouraged by the response to the trial and, as a result, are delighted to now be rolling the discount out to all Pret shops around the UK.

“We’re really pleased to the see the uptake the incentive has had in our London shops so far. It’s one small step we can take to encouraging a reduction in paper cup usage across the UK.”

Any barista-prepared organic coffees, teas and hot chocolates are eligible for the discount if customers bring in their own reusable cups, even if theses cups are fitted with competitor branding.

Takeaway in a manger

Incentives surrounding the use of reusable cups are built on the findings that less than 1% of the UK’s three billion paper cups are actually recycled each year.

Pret A Manger is the latest in a line of coffee sellers to introduce national discount schemes. Both Costa Coffee and Starbucks had introduced discounts for consumers with reusable cups, but both firms have since evolved strategies to promote the recyclability of paper coffee cups.

Costa Coffee launched a recycling scheme in all of its stores to ensure that as many as possible of its own takeaway cups – and those from its competitors – are recycled.

Starbucks followed with a similar initiative. The coffee retailer launched a new in-store paper cup recycling bin aimed at encouraging customers to return take-away cups back into the store and boost overall recycling levels.

Pret A Manger – along with McDonald’s, Costa Coffee, and Caffè Nero amongst others – is supporting a coffee cup recycling initiative led by charity Hubbub. Community campaigns in Manchester and London to promote the recyclability of high-street paper coffee cups have collected more than 1.2m cups since October last year.

Matt Mace

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